Yokohama Rubber Eyes Premium Tire, OHT Growth Under New Mid-Term Plan

Yokohama Rubber Co has outlined its new mid-term plan, YX2029, which targets significant expansion and restructuring of its global tire production network over the next three years. The plan includes the development of a ‘hybrid’ plant in Mexico, set to start production in January 2027, with a total annual capacity of 5 million passenger car tires and 11 kilotonnes of off-highway tires. The $500-million plant is expected to cut production costs by 55% during the initial 2-million tire production phase and 71% at full capacity, compared to the company’s Salem plant in Virginia. Yokohama Rubber also plans to expand its production units in China and India, with the goal of increasing the proportion of higher-value products and reducing production costs for standard products. The company aims to increase the contribution of its premium Advan, Geolandar, and Winter products from 47% to 50% of total sales by 2029. Additionally, Yokohama Rubber has set a target of Yen70 billion in business profit for its OHT business in 2029, with plans to transfer production currently supplied by Goodyear across its global production footprint by 2030.