Yokohama Rubber to build €350m car tire plant in Mexico

Hiratsuka, Japan – Yokohama Rubber Co. (YRC) is planning to build a new passenger car tire plant in Mexico to strengthen its capacity and presence in North America.

The facility, to be built in Saltillo, in the northeastern state of Coahuila, will have an annual production capacity of 5 million tires, YRC announced 18 March.

The Japanese group aims to start construction work on the $380 million (€350 million) plant in the second quarter of this year, with production scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2027.

The factory will be built on a site with a total area of about 610,000 square metres, which YRC said will be able to accommodate future expansion.

Commenting on the decision, the group said it recognised that local production for local demand would be “indispensable to rapidly meeting the expected increase in demand for tires in the North American market.”

The facility will have access to “a major railway line” and expressway that will facilitate timely supply of tires to customers throughout North America, YRC added.

YRC aims to ‘maximise’ the sales ratio of its high-value-added tires as part of its most recent three-year medium term plan (2024-2026), unveiled last month.

In particular, the tire and rubber group aims to expand the sales of its global flagship Advan brand; the Geolandar brand of tires for SUVs and pickup trucks; winter tires; and 18-inch and larger tires.

The YX2026 plan also targets “product and regional strategies” focused on strengthening the development, supply, and sales of tires that respond to specific trends in each regional market. (ERJ report)