Yokohama Tyres

Origin and Expansion

Yokohama Rubber Company Limited is a multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1917, Yokohama began its operation as Yokohama Cable manufacturing and formed a joint venture with B.F Goodrich. In 1969, the manufacturer expanded its business to the United States with the name Yokohama Tyre Corporation. 

It is currently the eighth largest tyre manufacturer in the world with a significant presence in various parts of the world including, the US, Canada, Mexico, and India. Yokohama supplies tyres in several countries to OEMs like Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Nissan, Suzuki and Toyota in addition to the aftermarket. 

In India, the company established its base in 2007 as Yokohama India PVT LTD, initially selling imported tyres. The first manufacturing plant was set up in 2014 in the Bahadurgarh city of Haryana state at an expense of INR 300 crores. The Japanese tyre manufacturer has been producing quality tyres in the country since its inception with the design especially created taking in mind the Indian road conditions. 

The company continues to expand its product development, marketing and production in the country, to cement its position among the leading tyremakers. In 2014-15, the market share in India was 2 per cent, today, the company, together with Bridgestone, Goodyear, Michelin and Continental, commands a 15 per cent market share.

The company is committed to develop and offer top-notch tyres that are tailored made to suit the market needs, and its Japanese expertise has helped it gain success so far. The tyremaker has proven ability to excel in various segments of autos, including two-wheeler, four-wheeler and commercial vehicles. The company portfolio consists of a vast tyre range right from standard street to on-road and off-road racing. 

The tyremaker has a strong presence in motorsports and has been active in sponsoring various events. Yokohama had joined hands with Chelsea Football Club of English Premier League for multiyear Official Global Tyre Partnership. It is also the exclusive tyre supplier for FIA TCR (Tour Car Race) Series. 

The company’s performance wing ADVAN has been an original equipment supplier to popular cars, including Mercedes Benz AMG, Mazda 3, Toyota RAV 4 Crossover SUV, BMW X3 Midsize Sports Activity Vehicle, Porsche 911/Boxster/718 Cayman and BMW X4 model, among others.

In the field of technology and research, the Japanese tyre giant in association with Tribology Laboratory of Kanazawa University, Japan, has developed evaluation technology that visualizes rubber’s frictional state when it comes in contact with an icy surface. 

Yokohama is the first in the world to develop a technology that efficiently produces isoprene from biomass. It has also developed a unique tyre design technology that employs information processing in the development of rubber materials used to shape design in tyres.

R&D Facilities

The comprehensive research and development activities have helped Yokohama achieve fame across the world. Besides, top-notch R&D centre in Tokyo, Japan, the company has state-of-the-art Research and Development Integrated Centre (RADIC) at the Hiratsuka Factory that promotes the development of next-generation technology. It has an extensive testing facility known as D-PARC (Daigo Proving-ground and Research Center), the TIRE TEST CENTER OF ASIA in Thailand, and T*MARY (Takasu Motoring and Researching Yard), for carrying out in-vehicle testing. In 2018, the US wing opened a new tyre R&D unit called Yokohama Development Center America (YDCA), located in Cornelius, North Carolina.

Achievements

• Grabs the Chicago Athenaeum’s 2019 Good Design Award
• Russian subsidiary of Yokohama, LLC Yokohama R.P.Z. given the Nissan Best Supplier Award in the chassis category
• Wins three awards from New Products Awards in the Tyre and Related Product category in the 2019 SEMA Show
• Wins its first NTDA Tyre Manufacturer of the Year award in Tyre Industry Awards ceremony held in Birmingham, UK
• Red Dot Design Award 2019 given to GEOLANDAR X-MT G005
• Wins National Tyres Distributors´ Association awards for safety awareness campaign in the UK
• Acknowledged with TyreSafe’s prestigious Tyre Manufacturer Award for efforts, achievements and innovative approach in the promotion of tyre safety in the UK
• Toyota Kirloskar Motors award for Zero PPM and two certificates; 100% Delivery Certificate & Zero-Defect Quality Certificate awarded to Yokohama India
• Got the award Upsizing Tyre of The Year 2018 from TRiLA (Tyre & Rubber Industry Leadership Acknowledgement)

Passenger Car Tyre

The passenger car tyre portfolio of Yokohama India has a wide range of products catering to every segment, including compact hatchbacks, sedans, SUVs, and sports categories. All the tyres are custom-built looking at the Indian road conditions and are exceptional in their categories offering optimum performance. Some of the prominent names include the ADVAN, BluEarth, Earth-1, S.Drive and GEOLANDER series.

Motorcycle and Scooter Tyre

The Japanese tyre manufacturer has not ventured into the two-wheeler market yet. But being one of the largest tyre producers in the world, it may enter into the lucrative two-wheeler tyre business in future. 

Truck Tyre

Yokohama has a significant presence in the commercial tyres sector covering categories like regional-haul, pick-up and delivery, trailer, on-off highway, and long-haul. The company manufactures truck tyres that are built with specialized tread compounds and superior casing design for getting maximum durability, longer treadwear, and more retreads. Some of the notable products in the truck category are BLUEARTH® 109L UWB, 902L™ UWB, 712L, among others. 

Manufacturing facilities in India and abroad

Apart from the multiple domestic production plants in Japan, the tyre manufacturing giant has established its base in the US by acquiring Mohawk Rubber Company acting as an essential manufacturing unit. The tyremaker has two dedicated production plants in Salem, Virginia, and another one in West Point, Mississippi, US. 

Yokohama has a sole manufacturing facility in India located in Bahadurgarh city of Haryana. The tyremaker has recently doubled Bahadurgarh's manufacturing unit capacity to 1.6 million tyres annually. The company has announced to build a new manufacturing plant in Andhra Pradesh, India, to produce off-highway tyres by its subsidiary ATG (Alliance Tire Group).

Yokohama Sales Network

Currently, Yokohama India has nearly 1300 points of sales, including the Yokohama Club Network (YCN) across India. YCN is a specialized network that works on Yokohama’s global philosophy in offering points of sales for the world-class tyre buying experience.