If you are an aspiring entrepreneur fishing for an idea to get you started in the tyres/automobile industry, Neeraj Kanwar, Vice Chairman and Joint Managing Director, Apollo Tyres has given away a big cue for you. In an interaction yesterday, he said, “The next big thing in this industry is the selling tyres through the Internet, which is a more B2C kind of a platform. This model has done really well in Europe, with some of the very big companies already operating online sales.” [example: Delitcom AG]

He said it is very likely that this trend will hit India soon, owing to reasons such as distribution centers located in the outskirts of the city, which calls for a whole day’s work gone in the ordeal of selecting a Tyre for a vehicle. Kanwar adds, “The customer today don’t have time. Hence, such a B2C model will soon become necessary; and it will be a promising opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs.”

So are we looking at someone who starts a portal displaying all variety of tyres for a customer to choose from, arranging for a pickup of the vehicle from the customer’s door step, fitting and tuning the tyre at the workshop, delivering the vehicle back to the customer? Or maybe, becoming a platform for various workshops with no Internet presence? A unique model is what you have to think of and leverage this opportunity of the future.

Grab a copy of the forthcoming issue of DARE [ November 2008 ] to read the full interview with Neeraj Kanwar, where he talks about the impact of the current financial turmoil on this industry & its ecosystem, Apollo’s strategy, and more.