Bangladesh is now making cars. What about car tyres?
Bangladeshi tyre companies now manufacture various types of tyres and tubes for almost all kinds of vehicles – trucks, buses, tractors, rickshaws and what have you. But when it comes to tyres for ‘private cars,’ none of the companies manufactures them yet
A month ago, Taqi Tajwar noticed that two of his car tyres were worn out, and he needed to replace them. He took no time to decide that he would buy Bangladesh-made tyres.
Back in the day, when he used to ride a bike, he used to have local tyres each time he needed to replace them.
Although the car he uses is manufactured by a foreign company, Taqi would feel good to use locally manufactured tyres, or battery or anything for that matter. Locally manufactured batteries are in fact widely used in all kinds of vehicles, standard cars included.
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But his enthusiasm met surprise and disappointment when he found that all the car tyres sold at the shops were imported.
Bangladeshi tyre companies now manufacture various types of tyres and tubes for almost all kinds of vehicles – trucks, buses, motorcycles, tractors, rickshaws and cycles. However, when it comes to tyres for standard cars, locally called 'private cars,' none of the companies manufactures them yet.
Among the Bangladeshi tyre and tube manufacturing companies are Gazi, Meghna, Hussain and Jamuna.
Gazi Tyres, one of the oldest tyre companies in the country that started its journey two years after the Gazi Group had been founded in 1974, began with manufacturing tyres and tubes for rickshaws and rickshaw vans. Now, it manufactures these products for three-wheelers, motorcycles, bus trucks and microbuses.
When it comes to car tyres, the company appears to be hesitant.
"The case of cars is different. These are high-value vehicles, and we are still trying to understand if the car owners will be interested in buying local tyres," Merajul Islam, manager (commercial and admin) of Gazi Tyres told The Business Standard.
The company official said they have most of the tyre manufacturing infrastructure already in place and were prepared to make further investments if car tyre manufacturing made a strong business case.
Meghna Rubber Industries Ltd manufactures tyres and tubes for bicycles, motorbikes and three-wheelers; and has plans to make those for trucks and buses.
Meghna says it exports tyres and tubes to Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The company, however, does not make car tyres.
"Radial tyres need to be produced in huge numbers. The demand for this product in the country does not match such a project's capacity," said Lutful Bari, Meghna Group's chief operating officer, adding that the company does not have plans to make car tyres.
Meanwhile, Husain Tyres, which has been manufacturing motorcycle tyres since 1996, also makes bias tyres for microbuses but does not manufacture radial (tubeless) tyres.
"None of the Bangladeshi tyre manufacturers produces radial tyres," said Md Sirajul Islam Tuhin (general manager, operations of Husain Tyres).
But the wait for car tyres made in Bangladesh could soon be over.
After the government declared a tax holiday in 2015, the Jamuna Group set up a factory with a production capacity of 25 lakh tyres with an investment of more than Tk2,000 crore, according to an earlier TBS report.
The operations of the factory faced various challenges in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company, Jamuna Tyres and Rubber Industries Ltd is now producing tyres on a trial basis.
"Our factory in Habiganj did not have a gas supply. We secured it four months back and started a trial run a month ago. We are now fine-tuning our machinery," ABM Shamsul Hasan, director (commercial) at Jamuna Group told The Business Standard.
"Foreign technicians set up the machines before the pandemic, and we sent 40 people to China to receive a 3-month training," he said.
The tyres of cars and other vehicles could hit the market within months.
The company is also preparing to export tyres, Shamsul Hasan said.
According to reports, although several companies in the country manufacture tyres, about 90% of the annual market demand for more than 25 lakh tyres is met by imports.
Two companies from China and India planned large investments in the sector in the country but later stepped back from setting up factories.
