Apollo Tyres Ltd is set to open a new winter and all-season tire testing facility in Ivalo, Finland this winter, the Indian tire maker has announced. Being developed under a long-term agreement with automotive testing and certification group UTAC, the facility will be fully operational by December, said Apollo 11 Aug.

The centre will feature "exclusive, tailor-made infrastructure" and dedicated test tracks for winter and all season tire testing, enhancing Apollo's "autonomy, efficiency and agility".

The move will "eliminate bottlenecks, increase our cost-effectiveness, [enable Apollo to] gain full control of test schedules, and empower our teams to iterate and validate products", said Daniele Lorenzetti, chief technology officer.

The centre will be used for both Apollo and Vredestein brands and will enable further testing during the critical winter season, he added.

The facility, according to Apollo, is designed to "meet and exceed" all current and anticipated technical and legal standards for winter and all season tire development.

It allows for extended-season testing windows, helping to lower development timelines and accelerate go-to-market cycles.

"For the tire industry, this signals a shift toward greater vertical integration in performance validation", Apollo concluded.