Industry Odisha Bureau, Oct 23: Italy’s Pirelli has teamed up with India’s Balkrishna Industries to make tyres in Gujarat. The plan targets up to 8 lakh tyres a year by 2030. A 50:50 JV may follow later.
Italy’s Pirelli and India’s Balkrishna Industries have announced a strategic tyre manufacturing partnership. Under the plan, up to 8 lakh Pirelli-branded tyres could be made annually by 2030. The tyres would come from BKT’s upcoming facility in Bhuj, Gujarat.
Balkrishna Industries, known as BKT, is based in Mumbai. It is a leading maker of off-highway tyres. Such tyres are used on farm, construction and mining machinery rather than ordinary cars. Pirelli is a long-established Italian tyre maker. The partnership therefore brings together two firms with different strengths.
Production at the Bhuj plant is expected to start in the next financial year. That timeline was indicated by BKT joint managing director Rajiv Poddar. The 8-lakh figure is the annual ceiling envisaged by 2030.
The partnership will unfold in two phases. In the first, BKT will make tyres for Pirelli under an off-take arrangement. Poddar said this work would take place at the Bhuj site. Under such a deal, one company manufactures goods that another agrees to buy. The products here will carry the Pirelli brand.
An off-take arrangement does not involve shared ownership. BKT runs the production, while Pirelli secures supply of its branded tyres. Such models generally let a brand add output without building its own plant. They also let a manufacturer put new capacity to use early.
The second phase is more ambitious. It envisages a proposed 50:50 joint venture, or JV, between the two companies. The JV would make premium passenger car tyres. These would be sold under both the Pirelli and BKT brands.
A joint venture is a separate business owned jointly by its partners. Under an equal 50:50 split, each side would hold the same stake. That differs sharply from the supply-based first phase. However, the JV is not yet final. It depends on the partners agreeing their business plans.
The reported details did not include investment figures or a timeline for the JV. According to the companies, the proposed facility would serve domestic and international markets. That gives the Bhuj plant both a local and an overseas focus.
For BKT, the JV would extend its reach beyond its off-highway core. For Pirelli, the deal offers a manufacturing base in a large automotive market. India is one of the world’s largest automotive markets. The tie-up pairs a global premium brand with an established Indian producer.
Partnerships like this can deepen local manufacturing capability in the tyre sector. They can also bring global brands closer to Indian customers. Making tyres locally can also shorten supply chains for both domestic and export buyers.
Still, the plans remain largely forward-looking. Production has not yet begun, and the 8-lakh target is set for 2030. The JV’s final shape will depend on talks between the partners. For now, the off-take phase at Bhuj is the immediate focus.
