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For Michelin India, Pune has emerged as more than just a regional hub—it’s now the global epicenter of artificial intelligence innovation within the Michelin Group. At its Global Competency Center in the city, the company isn’t just optimizing tyres but redefining how they’re designed, manufactured, and used.
In a conversation with Autocar Professional, Shantanu Deshpande, Managing Director of Michelin India, highlighted one such groundbreaking innovation: PP360, an AI-powered tool that uses language processing to analyze customer sentiment across platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The system evaluates feedback on aspects such as tyre noise, grip, and comfort, providing real-time insights that directly inform the design of Michelin’s products. “You can take actual feedback from consumers and start to look at what you can do better in the next version of the existing product,” Deshpande explained. This approach allows Michelin to bypass the traditional waiting game of a product life cycle, enabling making faster, more targeted improvements to its tyres.
Beyond customer sentiment, AI developed in Pune is transforming Michelin’s manufacturing processes. One striking example: forklift operators in Michelin factories now rely on AI-driven real-time guidance for their tasks. Instructions delivered directly to their computers improve operational efficiency and reduce human error—a critical advantage in the competitive and cost-conscious tyre industry.
Riding India’s road to premium tyres
Michelin’s focus on innovation coincides with India’s rising importance in the global automotive landscape. As infrastructure development accelerates and road conditions improve, the demand for higher-quality tyres has surged. This shift has prompted Michelin to concentrate on more profitable, high-margin products, particularly in the premium segment.
One area of transformation is the truck tyre segment, where Michelin is pushing for a transition from traditional tube-type radial tyres, which dominate over 90% of the market, to tubeless, fuel-efficient radial tyres. The rationale is clear: fuel costs constitute roughly 60% of a fleet operator’s expenses, and tubeless tyres deliver up to 10% in fuel savings. For fleet operators managing razor-thin profit margins, this translates into significant cost reductions over time.
Yet, there’s an initial hurdle to adoption. Tubeless tyres come at a premium, priced 25-30% higher than their tube-type counterparts. However, as Deshpande noted, “When you fit a tyre [fuel-efficient] on a truck, it will continue to save you fuel till the last millimeter you use it.” Michelin is actively partnering with large fleet operators to help them understand this value proposition and make the transition to fuel-efficient tyres.
Michelin’s premium positioning also extends to its passenger car tyre business. The company has deliberately chosen not to produce smaller tyres, focusing instead on sizes 16 inches and above, which are in demand in India’s largest cities. This strategy aligns with consumer behavior in urban markets, where the appetite for premium vehicles—and the tyres that complement them—continues to grow.
Beyond Tyres: Michelin’s vision for the future
At the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025, Michelin is showcasing how it’s evolving beyond its traditional image as a tyre manufacturer. Central to this transformation is the company’s commitment to sustainability, with a goal of becoming the most sustainable tyre company by 2050.
Among the highlights at the event is a bus tyre made from 58% renewable materials and a motorsport tyre composed of 70% recycled and renewable components.
The company is also highlighting its special tyres for maneuvering around the lunar surface. Designed in collaboration with NASA, this project, known by the name project Artemis, showcased the company’s sustainable tyre prototype. It aims to design a lunar vehicle capable of operating in extreme conditions on the moon for 10 years. Alongside Michelin, the team headed by Intuitive Machines also includes AVL, Boeing and Northrop Grumman Corporation.
“Michelin will leverage its expertise in airless tires and its knowledge of high-tech materials to design a lunar wheel capable of withstanding extreme temperatures (over 100°C and below -240°C) and solar and galactic radiation, while preserving the rover’s battery life and providing maximum traction on an aggressive, loose soil” the company earlier remarked in a statement. ” The developments carried out as part of this project will enable Michelin to continue innovating in terrestrial applications”, it added.
Additionally, the company is also showcasing some of the products that it manufactures in Chennai, such as fuel-efficient commercial vehicle tyre X Multi Z or Defence tyre like Michelin XZL, among others.
Chennai expansion: Strengthening local roots
In a key maneuver last September, Michelin India unveiled its foray into the passenger car radial tyre market, marked by the launch of a Rs 564-crore brownfield project in Thervoykandigai, situated on the outskirts of Chennai. The initiative, part of a sweeping expansion of its Chennai plant—where the company has already invested an impressive Rs 2,840 crores—signals Michelin’s growing commitment to the Indian market.
Beyond the numbers, the project carries a more immediate promise: over 200 direct jobs for the region. Progress on the plant, has been smooth, by all accounts, and company executives remain bullish on their timeline, with production slated to commence as early as the third quarter of this year. So far, Michelin’s Chennai Plant has been producing a significant portion of radial tyres for truck and bus for the Indian and some export markets.
Michelin India currently has a work force of around 2800 employees based out of Chennai and Pune.
(With inputs from Kiran Murali and Yukta Mudgal)
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