Bridgestone India has expanded its Flagship Select Store network with the opening of four new Select outlets in Hyderabad. With these new outlets, the company has taken its tally of stores in Hyderabad to 46 with an aim to transform the tyre buying and servicing experience by addressing the evolving needs of Indian consumers.

The Bridgestone Select Stores, which are supported by a robust premium network, offer an engaging and instructive experience that enables consumers to choose tyres with knowledge. To assist consumers get the most out of their tyres, the business also gives demos so they can see the impact that each service offers. At the moment, Bridgestone has a strong dealer network of 3,200, which includes 820 Bridgestone Select stores in India. Bridgestone India operates a few select storefronts in important cities including New Delhi, Ghaziabad, Bangalore, Kolhapur, Chennai and Hyderabad. The Select shops are designed to address a long-standing demand for a more intelligent tyre retail structure.

Hiroshi Yoshizane, Managing Director, Bridgestone India, said, “Hyderabad is an important market for us, and we’re proud to expand this pioneering concept of Select stores in the city. Bridgestone is committed to provide superior products and services to customers in line with its mission of serving society with superior quality. At Bridgestone, we’ve consistently led in enhancing customer experience, and these stores will help customers in Hyderabad to make informed tyre choices tailored to their needs. It also offers our dealers a unique, differentiated format to drive more walk-ins. As tyres are the only point of contact between a vehicle and the road, the store is designed to offer customers premium products, services and an elevated buying experience through its exclusive network.”

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The Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA) has called on the Government of India to introduce customs duty relief on critical raw materials due to supply chain instability from the West Asia crisis. ATMA acknowledged the government’s temporary duty exemption on synthetic rubber and certain resins until June 2026 as a constructive step.

Despite this, ATMA noted that inputs like tyre cord fabric, bead wire, steel cord, carbon black, processing oils and petrochemical chemicals still attract high import duties during price volatility and supply constraints. Crude-linked inputs account for up to 70 percent of raw material costs, with volatile crude prices and stressed shipping routes raising costs, delaying shipments and increasing freight and insurance premiums.

ATMA also highlighted bead wire shortages caused by domestic industrial gas and LPG issues, requesting a temporary waiver from Quality Control Order requirements for imports. The association sought sulphur supplies for tyre manufacturers and urged refineries to sustain process oils while shifting towards high-value materials like Neodymium Polybutadiene Rubber.

ATMA warned that raw material disruptions could affect farm and logistics tyre supplies. The association reaffirmed support for Make in India and self-reliance, stressing continued government-industry dialogue to protect original equipment manufacturers, transporters, farmers and consumers.

Arun Mammen, Chairman, ATMA, said, "We appreciate the Government’s timely support. However, given continued global uncertainties, extending duty relief to other critical raw materials is essential to maintain production stability and cost competitiveness."

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Formula 1 and Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited have unveiled India’s first official F1 Sim Racing Championship, marking a milestone for motorsport in the country. Under an agreement granting Mumbai Falcons rights to host an F1 sanctioned virtual competition, the F1 Sim Racing India Open 2026 establishes a national platform for emerging talent. The championship creates a structured transition from simulated to professional motorsport, offering young drivers a credible entry point. This marks the first time Formula 1 has introduced such a program exclusively for India.

The announcement arrives amid growing momentum to bring Formula 1 back to India and rising fan engagement. With esports now recognised under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act of 2025, the championship connects the country to Formula 1’s global driver pathway, tapping into an expanding motorsport ecosystem.

The competition will be conducted on F1 25, the official game of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, featuring identical circuits, formats, and liveries as the global series. Registrations open 30 April 2026 on the MFRL App. Participants can compete via PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox. Online qualifiers will lead to city-based simulator rounds, culminating in a national final in Mumbai in November.

Mumbai Falcons has previously supported the early careers of drivers who reached motorsport’s pinnacle, including Jehan Daruvala, Kush Maini, Arthur Leclerc, Dino Beganovic, Sebastian Montoya, Rafael Camara, James Wharton, Freddie Slater, Kean Nakamura Berta, Oleksandr Bondarev, Kimi Antonelli, Arvid Lindblad and Oliver Bearman. This proven foundation positions Mumbai Falcons to deliver India’s first scalable motorsport pipeline.

Narain Karthikeyan, India's first Formula 1 Driver, said, “India has long been central to global growth story of Formula 1. With 78.8 million fans and a generation raised on F1 gaming, the time is right to introduce an official, competitive Sim Racing Championship here. Mumbai Falcons are the ideal partner, having invested years in building India’s motorsport pipeline. This initiative is unique, globally exclusive and will set a new benchmark for talent development.”

Ameet Gadhoke, Managing Director, Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited, said, “When we founded Mumbai Falcons in 2019, our ambition was to place India firmly on the global motorsport map and build a pipeline for world-class talent. Mumbai Falcons became the first Indian team to win an FIA-accredited international racing Championship. We have also supported the early careers of future Formula 1 stars. Partnering with Formula 1 to bring the F1 Sim Racing India Open 2026 to life is yet another significant initiative in that direction.”

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The Alliance for the Future of Tires (AZuR) has gained a new technology partner, AKIN Solutions, which is pioneering advanced material recycling methods for end-of-life tyres through its developing platform known as Rubber BioRefine. This biotechnology-driven system applies enzymatic processes originally refined in the plastics industry to rubber recycling for the first time, marking a significant step forward in the tyre circular economy. The central innovation focuses on converting previously hard-to-recycle tyre components into high-quality raw materials that match the quality of primary resources, thereby addressing a long-standing challenge in waste tire management.

At the core of the Rubber BioRefine approach is the selective cleavage of rubber polymer chains at the molecular level, which produces defined polymer fragments while preserving their structural integrity. Unlike conventional mechanical recycling methods that typically lead to a reduction in material value, this enzymatic technique enables a much higher grade of material reuse. It opens new possibilities for demanding rubber applications. The technology is specifically designed to integrate with existing recycling systems, particularly in combination with devulcanisation processes.

Another essential element of the platform is high-resolution molecular imaging using MALDI-MSI, a technique that allows AKIN Solutions to analyse the composition of rubber samples and create precise spatial maps of the compounds present. For the first time, this provides detailed insights into which substances exist in specific areas and at what concentrations, enabling more targeted assessment of material flows. Such precision is a key prerequisite for significantly more efficient recycling processes and for achieving high-quality circular economy management.

The technology remains in the development phase, with the ultimate goal of achieving industrial scalability and enabling large-scale economic application. Through this innovative combination of precise molecular analysis and enzymatic recovery, AKIN Solutions aims to fundamentally improve the material recycling of scrap tyres, reduce waste and emissions and help close material cycles. The partnership with AZuR is expected to strengthen the creation of future-proof, sustainable solutions for the entire tyre recycling value chain.

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Tyrecycle Chief Executive Officer Jim Fairweather has called for mandatory market-based regulation and increased government procurement ahead of his appearance at a parliamentary inquiry into Australia’s tyre industry. His formal submission to the Standing Committee on Industry, Innovation and Science sets an uncompromising objective of eliminating tyre dumping nationwide. Fairweather argues that collection schemes alone are insufficient without creating genuine demand for recycled materials.

The inquiry, conducted by the Standing Committee on Industry, Innovation and Science, was adopted on 5 November 2025, following referrals from the Ministers for Industry and Science. Its mandate includes investigating industry challenges and opportunities within a circular economy framework. Fairweather has identified significant market failures, noting that a large portion of Australia’s tyre waste remains buried or abandoned. He argues that extended producer responsibility schemes do not automatically create markets, as effective disposal methods do not necessarily follow collection efforts.

A central focus of Tyrecycle’s submission is the disparity between tyre sectors. While passenger and truck tyres achieve a 96 percent collection rate, off the road or mining tyres represent nearly 30 percent of total waste by weight, yet the recovery rate stood at just 13 percent in 2023 and 2024. Fairweather insists that national waste targets cannot be reached without addressing off the road tyres; he has labelled the practice of landfilling and in pit disposal at mines as a major regulatory barrier.

To bridge this gap, Tyrecycle has proposed targeted landfill bans to redirect mining and agricultural tyres towards recyclers. The company also calls for increased government procurement of crumb rubber for road construction, noting that mandating higher recycled content in asphalt specifications could expand the domestic market fivefold. Australia’s road sector already consumes about 30,000 tonnes of crumb rubber annually, while Tyrecycle is advancing a pipeline of over 100,000 tonnes per year in domestic tyre derived fuel.

Tyrecycle, which processes roughly 20 million equivalent passenger units annually or about 40 percent of Australia’s collected waste tyres, has invested more than 50 million dollars in capital upgrades. This includes 12.8-million-dollar push into the off the road market in Port Hedland, along with developments in Rockingham, Newcastle and Erskine Park. Fairweather is also urging the federal government to allocate more budget for enforcing export regulations to combat rogue operators who export non-compliant materials. He presented Tyrecycle’s formal submission to the parliamentary inquiry in March, framing the circular economy as a shared responsibility requiring accountability from all waste generators.

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