JK Tyre & Industries Ltd has raised tyre prices across domestic replacement and export markets to offset a sharp increase in raw material costs triggered by the West Asia conflict, while simultaneously unveiling a ₹4,980-crore capacity expansion programme to capitalise on the industry’s long-term growth prospects.
The tyre maker said disruptions in supply chains, rising input costs and a weakening rupee have significantly increased manufacturing expenses, prompting it to implement staggered price hikes and consider further increases in the coming months.
Raw material prices to rise 20%
“Keeping in view the ongoing situation, raw material prices are expected to go up by 18-20% in Q1 FY27 from Q4 FY26,” said Managing Director Anshuman Singhania, during the earnings call.
To protect margins, the company has already increased prices by 4-5% across products in the replacement market and by 5-7% in export markets. A further 5-6% increase is currently underway, while price revisions for OEM customers will follow with a lag.
Expansion To Meet Demand
Despite near-term challenges, JK Tyre remains optimistic about demand and has approved a fresh brownfield expansion plan of ₹4,980 crore for its Truck & Bus Radial (TBR) and Passenger Car Radial (PCR) segments.
The new investment is in addition to the ₹1,130-crore expansion programme announced earlier and will be implemented in phases through 2029.
“The Board has approved further brownfield expansions for TBR and PCR segments at an aggregate cost of ₹4,980 crore. This will increase TBR and PCR capacities by 24%,” Singhania said.
Sets FY29 as deadline
Chief Financial Officer Sajeev Aggarwal, said the company was operating at nearly full capacity utilisation and was expanding to meet future demand.
“We had announced ₹1,130 crore expansion plans earlier. Now, seeing the momentum in demand growth, we have announced another ₹5,000 crore expansion plan to be completed in three phases over the next three to four years. These total expansions of ₹6,110 crore will be completed by FY29,” he said.
Demand Outlook Positive
The company said demand remains healthy across both replacement and original equipment (OE) markets despite geopolitical uncertainties.
“We have not seen any order books getting cut from any of the OEMs, be it commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles or any other segment,” Aggarwal said.
While some supply-chain disruptions have emerged due to geopolitical developments, the company believes the structural demand drivers for the automobile and tyre sectors remain intact.
“Though the auto industry had double-digit growth overall in FY26, we expect healthy growth momentum to continue in FY27,” Singhania said.
Digital Transformation
JK Tyre is also accelerating the use of artificial intelligence across manufacturing and business operations.
“We are implementing AI in manufacturing, progressing towards paperless and connected plants with end-to-end digitisation. Across functions, we are expanding the deployment of Agentic AI solutions to augment decision-making and automate workflows,” Singhania said.
On the international front, President (International), Arun K. Bajoria, said the company is developing a new passenger car tyre line for the Mexican and US markets while exploring sourcing opportunities from Southeast Asia to strengthen its trading business.