Apollo Tyres setting up outdoor testing facility in Finland

Apollo Tyres on Monday said it is setting up an outdoor tyre testing facility at Ivalo, Finland, for winter and all-season tyre evaluation.

The new outdoor testing facility is expected to be fully operational by December 2025 and will immediately begin supporting ongoing product development initiatives for both existing and future tyre lines, the company said in a statement.

Being developed under a long-term agreement with UTAC, a globally recognised automotive testing and certification group, the facility will feature dedicated test tracks purpose-built for winter and all-season tyre testing in real-world conditions, it added.

"This is a strategic investment in autonomy, efficiency and agility," Apollo Tyres CTO Daniele Lorenzetti said.

With this test track in UTAC proving grounds, the company eliminates bottlenecks, increases cost-effectiveness, gains full control of test schedules, and empowers teams to iterate and validate products, both the Apollo and Vredestein brands, on their terms -- especially during the critical winter season, he added.