Chennai: Despite geopolitical uncertainties and raw material cost pressures, India's leading tyre manufacturers are aggressively pursuing capacity expansion plans. They are banking on a healthy demand outlook driven by the replacement segment, premiumisation trends, and infrastructure-led mobility. Major players such as MRF, Apollo Tyres, Ceat, JK Tyre & Industries, and Balkrishna Industries have lined up a combined capital expenditure of over Rs 10,000 crore for FY27. These investments span passenger vehicle, truck and bus, two-wheeler, and off-highway tyre segments.
Apollo Tyres' Expansion Plans
Apollo Tyres has outlined a Rs 3,500-crore capex plan for FY27, with nearly 80% allocated for growth and capacity expansion. Around Rs 3,000 crore will be invested in India to expand truck and passenger radial tyre capacities, while the remaining funds will support passenger car tyre expansion at its Hungary facility. The company's capacity utilisation remains high at approximately 90% in both India and Europe.
MRF's Significant Investment
MRF has also indicated substantial investments for FY27. The Chennai-headquartered tyre maker is expected to incur over Rs 2,000 crore in capital expenditure to ramp up production across its manufacturing facilities.
Ceat's Growth Capex
Ceat is operating at capacity utilisation levels of 85-90% across categories. The company plans an outlay of Rs 1,350 to Rs 1,400 crore in FY27, including growth capex. This is about 25% higher than the Rs 1,076 crore spent in FY26, excluding the CAMSO-related acquisition outlay.
Balkrishna Industries' Additional Capex
Balkrishna Industries has approved an additional capex of Rs 2,000 crore to expand capacities across off-highway and on-highway tyre categories. Its FY26 capital expenditure stood at around Rs 2,800 crore.
JK Tyre's Investment Plans
JK Tyre stated during its Q3FY26 earnings call that it would invest Rs 1,130 crore to expand capacities across truck and bus radial (TBR), passenger car radial (PCR), and all-steel light truck radial (ASLTR) tyre segments. The company reported radial tyre capacity utilisation of over 95%, while overall utilisation across its India operations touched 90%. JK Tyre is expected to announce its FY27 capex outlay along with its FY26 results next week.
Despite robust demand, tyre makers remain cautious about volatility in raw material, energy, and logistics costs stemming from the West Asia crisis. They are resorting to further price increases to protect margins.
