Apollo Tyres has announced its debut in the Truck and Bus Radial (TBR) tyre segment in Europe at the ongoing Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham. It has also become the first and only manufacturer to launch its TBR range exclusively online, with a new go-to-market approach.
The company has six manufacturing plants globally, including the recently inaugurated Greenfield factory in Hungary, along with four R&D centres spread around the world.
“Quality, reliability and performance are central to Apollo Tyres’ philosophy. The company benchmarks against the best in the market and, often, outperforms them,” says Apollo Tyres’ Chief Retail & Marketing Officer, Marco Paracciani. “However, for the European TBR market, we felt that a strong product offering was not enough as we saw an opportunity to innovate in the go-to-market approach.”
Apollo products are exclusively available through an online platform – ApolloTyresDirect.com – directly from Apollo, where pricing is said to be completely transparent, with no hidden costs or complicated deals. Stripped of all unnecessary ancillary expenses, customers (whether dealers, large or small fleets, or owner-operators) can choose the service they prefer, and only pay for what they need, says Apollo. Paracciani explains: “Thanks to our cutting-edge business model, we can offer performance tyres at cost-effective prices. Indeed, our value proposition is nicely summed up by ‘Performance Tyres. Your Price. Your Way’.”
“This launch today, is the culmination of our five-year testing and development programme for the Apollo brand of truck-bus radials in the UK and Europe,” says Benoit Rivallant, Group Head of Global Product Management for Commercial Vehicles, Apollo Tyres. “The new range was designed for Europe and extensively tested over 250 million kilometers across six European countries, in a wide range of applications, by around 50 fleets and driver partners.”
“Streamlining the process was paramount to the success of this project,” continues Rivallant. “We are finding new ways to provide premium tyres how and when our customers need them, whether directly to the end user or providing new service opportunities for dealers. And of course, even though we are completely online, our Customer Service teams are always available to help customers, wherever they may be.”
Apollo’s claims that their strategy is centred around providing the best deal for users: direct from the company, online, with transparent pan-European pricing, and leaving out anything the customer does not need or wish to pay for. The lean approach, according to the company, ensures that the tyres are cost-effective to produce, stock and deliver, so Apollo can pass its savings onto end customers.
At ApolloTyresDirect.com customers create a personalised price based on order volume, delivery slot and payment method. Criteria such as large orders, advanced planning for orders or delivery, payment in advance or on credit, and even collection from the warehouse in Hamburg, all enable further reductions in the cost-per-tyre, says the company. And buying directly from the manufacturer means that once an order is accepted, it is guaranteed to be fulfilled.
Apollo Tyres pilots the delivery of its new TBR European tyre range in UK, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands, with Germany and other countries soon to follow. However, countries currently outside the scope of delivery, can take advantage of the cost-effective pricing at ApolloTyresDirect.com by arranging collection from Apollo’s Hamburg warehouse.