Automotive tyre manufacturer Apollo Tyres on Thursday said it has opened a sales office in Bangkok, making it the hub for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) operations.

Till now the company used to export to each of the countries from India but from now on, it will send tyres to this office, which will cater to other markets in the region.

After Dubai for the West Asia region, this is the second hub outside the company’s operations in India, the company said. Apollo Tyres has also sales offices in the Netherlands and South Africa.

“In the last few years, due to high customer satisfaction, the demand and acceptability of our tyres has increased manifold in the Asean region. The Bangkok office will allow us to meet customer expectations with greater ease and swiftness,” Satish Sharma, Chief (of the region), Apollo Tyres, said.

He said the Asean region has gradually become one of Apollo’s strongest export markets, out of India, accounting for more than 40 per cent of exports revenue.

The contribution of this region to the total exports revenue of the company out of India has doubled in the last three years, he said.

Tyres for this region are produced out of Apollo’s four plants in India, including a modern facility in Chennai.

>ronendrasingh.s@thehindu.co.in

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