EV tyres in India: four years on from the first launches

Tyres designed specifically for electric cars arrived in India in a rush: CEAT, JK Tyre and Apollo Tyres all announced EV ranges within five days of each other in July and August 2022. Four years on, the approach has shifted. The two most prominent car tyre launches of 2026, Michelin’s India-made Primacy 5 and Yokohama’s Geolandar X-CV, are not EV-only tyres at all. Both are mainstream ranges that their makers say are built to cope with an electric car’s weight and torque as well as a petrol car’s needs.

The 2022 launches

CEAT went first, on 28 July 2022, with EnergyDrive, which its chief operating officer, Arnab Banerjee, described as the first tyre of its kind aimed at four-wheeler EVs in India. The pitch centred on noise: because EVs are quiet and deliver high torque, tyre noise is more noticeable. CEAT used a sound-absorbing material it calls CALM, a cavity design called EasyFlex to cut rolling resistance and extend range, and stiffer tread blocks, which it called DuraBlock, to make the tyres last longer under an EV’s torque.

JK Tyre’s range of EV-specific radials was reported the next day, covering buses, trucks, light commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles. It promised ultra-low rolling resistance, better wet and dry traction and tread patterns shaped for lower noise, and fitted the tyres with its own Treel pressure sensors. It said it was already supplying bus tyres from the range for JBM’s electric buses.

Apollo Tyres launched Amperion for electric cars and WAV for electric scooters on 1 August 2022. Apollo said Amperion was aimed at hatchback, compact SUV and sedan EVs such as the Tata Nexon, MG ZS EV and Hyundai Kona, and that it was the first Indian tyre to earn a 5-star fuel-savings label from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency in the passenger car category. Apollo said EV tyres generally have about 30% lower rolling resistance than conventional tyres, and greater load-bearing capacity in the tread, plies and sidewalls.

Michelin’s position

Michelin took a different line. Its Indian site lists two EV-specific families, the Pilot Sport EV and the e·Primacy, while saying that any of its tyre ranges is suitable for an electric car.

2026: EV-ready rather than EV-only

This year’s launches follow Michelin’s line.

The Primacy 5, which Michelin launched on 3 August 2026 as its first passenger car tyre made in India, was designed for sedans and SUVs with petrol, diesel, hybrid or electric drive. Michelin said it was built to handle the extra weight, higher torque and different wear of EVs, with rolling resistance 6.5% lower than the Primacy 4ST it succeeds. “Primacy 5 is going to be good for ICE and it is going to be great for EV as well,” Michelin India’s managing director, Shantanu Deshpande, said.

The Geolandar X-CV, launched by Yokohama India on 12 August 2026 for crossovers and premium SUVs, is described as compatible with electric vehicles, with a construction designed for battery weight and instant torque. Yokohama named the Tata Nexon EV and Harrier EV among the vehicles it is aimed at.

What it means for EV owners

The choice is wider than it was in 2022: dedicated EV tyres still exist, and mainstream ranges increasingly claim to suit EVs too. What has not changed is the basic rule for replacements, which is to match the size, load index and speed rating on the car’s placard, and any HL or XL marking. Our guide to EV tyres explains what to look for, our guide to the tyre load index explains why load matters more on a heavy EV, and the brand pages for Apollo and CEAT cover two of the early movers.