Ashok Leyland plans to import radial tyres .

New Delhi, March 11 Plagued by a continuing shortage of truck and bus radials, the second biggest domestic commercial vehicle (CV) maker, Ashok Leyland, now plans to import the tyres and has sought a licence from the Government.

Radial tyre shortage in the commercial vehicles industry is now in its fourth month and has led the company to rein in production by almost 20 per cent, even though demand is at an all-time high.

This has forced it to search for alternate supply through imports, a first for the company.

Approval sought

“We have applied for a licence from the Government for importing truck/bus radials, but haven't been able to import them yet. Once we get the approval, we will look at various markets like China and Thailand.

“The shortage is happening for the last 3-4 months and there seems to be no solution in the near-term,” Mr Vinod Dasari, Chief Operating Officer, Ashok Leyland told Business Line.

Truck and bus radial tyre imports had been put under the ‘Restricted List' in November, 2008 by the Government.

This meant that importers had to specifically seek Government permission, which would be given on a case-to-case basis.

Dumping duty

To add to this, to protect the domestic tyre industry, the Government had put an anti-dumping duty on truck and bus radial tyre imports from China and Thailand, with effect from February 19 this year.

This was done despite protests from the auto industry, aftermarket tyre dealers and truckers' associations.

The notification of the anti-dumping duty has led to an increase in the cost of an imported tyre set (tyre+tube+flap) by Rs 1,140, to Rs 4,500.

Tata Motors too

Tata Motors, the biggest domestic CV maker, had earlier reported a 10-15 per cent drop in production due to similar reasons.

Tata Motors officials said that the company was importing tyres from various countries such as China.

Source : Business Line