Apollo Tyres has announced it will open a new outdoor tire testing facility in Ivalo, Finland, by December 2025. Developed in partnership with UTAC, the site will be dedicated to evaluating winter and all-season tires, aiming to enhance product development efficiency and speed up time-to-market.
In a move poised to redefine its global product development capabilities, Apollo Tyres Ltd has announced the upcoming launch of a state-of-the-art outdoor tire testing facility at the UTAC proving grounds in Ivalo, Finland. This cutting-edge site, expected to be fully operational by December 2025, is specifically engineered for the rigorous evaluation of the company’s winter and all-season tires, a critical segment for its global portfolio.
The new facility is being established under a long-term agreement with UTAC, a globally recognized automotive testing and certification group. The partnership will provide Apollo Tyres with exclusive, tailor-made infrastructure and dedicated test tracks designed for real-world testing in demanding cold-weather conditions. This arrangement is a significant step toward greater vertical integration in performance validation, a key trend in the tire industry.
According to Daniele Lorenzetti, Chief Technology Officer at Apollo Tyres, the investment represents a strategic move toward "autonomy, efficiency, and agility." He highlighted that having a dedicated track at the UTAC proving grounds will eliminate bottlenecks in the development process, increase cost-effectiveness, and give the company full control over its test schedules. This is particularly crucial during the vital winter season, allowing Apollo’s teams to iterate and validate products for both the Apollo and Vredestein brands on their own terms.
The facility’s design is intended to meet and exceed all current and future technical and legal standards for winter and all-season tire development. By consolidating key testing functions in a single, dedicated location, Apollo Tyres aims to significantly enhance test accuracy, repeatability, and efficiency in assessing tire performance on snow and ice. This move will also provide extended-season testing windows, which will help to compress development timelines and accelerate the go-to-market cycle for new products.
Beyond the immediate benefits to product development, the new testing ground is also a proactive response to increasing regulatory scrutiny and the challenges posed by climate variability. The company believes that this dedicated site will build resilience into its development programs and ensure that its tires continue to meet the evolving demands of both consumers and regulators worldwide.
The new facility is set to immediately begin supporting ongoing product development initiatives for both existing and future tire lines as soon as it opens its doors in December 2025. It underscores Apollo Tyres' long-term commitment to innovation and customer-centric product development, solidifying its position in the premium tire market and strengthening its competitive edge in a rapidly changing global landscape.
