New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) Japanese tyre major Yokohama on Monday said it has doubled manufacturing capacity at its Indian plant at Bahadurgarh in Haryana to 16 lakh tyres per year with the completion of second phase of expansion with an investment of Rs 380 crore.

The company, which started operations in India in 2014 with an initial capacity of 7 lakh tyres per year, has also hired 200 more employees at the plant to meet requirements for additional capacity.

Also Read | Mi Note 10 Lite Likely to Be Launched in India As Mi 10i: Report.

"In response to the increasing demand for Yokohama tyres in India and keeping in mind the projected market growth, we decided to double our domestic manufacturing capacities," Yokohama India Vice Chairman Anil Gupta said in a statement.

"Incidentally it has happened at an opportune time as restrictions on import of tyres have been announced by the government," he added.

Also Read | Microsoft Next-Gen Xbox Series S to Be Launched This Month: Report.

This development also creates more job opportunities locally. Currently, the Bahadurgarh plant has over 500 employees and now with increased production, the number will go over 700, Gupta said.

The investment for the second phase of expansion was Rs 380 crore, the company said.

With the technological expertise from the parent company in Japan, Yokohama will now mass manufacture its extremely popular 'Geolandar A/T' along with 'Geolandar SUV' and 'BluEarth-RV02' tyres at this facility, the company said.

"Several new offerings are also on the anvil to meet the changing needs of Indian motorists," the company added.

Globally, Yokohama supplies tyres to car manufacturers including Audi, Honda, Mercedes Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Suzuki and Toyota, in addition to selling them in the replacement market.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)