Yokohama set to start production at new China tire plant by yearend

Hiratsuka, Japan – Yokohama Rubber Co. (YRC) expects to begin production at its greenfield car tire manufacturing plant in China by December, as part of a broader strategy to address intensifying competition in the consumer tire market.

In its Integrated Report 2025, published on 30 Sept, YRC chairman and CEO Masataka Yamaishi said the “traditional path to success” in the tire industry had been “fundamentally altered” by the rise of emerging Chinese tire makers.

According to Yamaishi, planned production increases by Chinese companies, both inside and outside China, are expected to result in Chinese manufacturers accounting for up to 50% of global passenger car tire output by 2030.

This, he said, will further intensify competition in what Yokohama described as a “red ocean” market – one defined by lower added value and strong competition.

YRC’s response, according to Yamaishi, has been to enhance profitability by raising the sales ratio of its higher-value-added Advan, Geolandar and winter tires (AGW) from 40% to 50% within the Yokohama brand.

“This strategy takes advantage of one of our core strengths – the technologies that enable us to produce many models of these high-quality and high-performance AGW tires in small lots and supply them as OE for premium cars,” he said.

These “premium zone” brands, YRC noted, remain in the profitable “blue ocean,” where the group aims to expand sales over time.

Furthermore, YRC aims to accelerate regional initiatives through local management teams, implementing tailored strategies such as the expansion of the Geolandar brand in North America and Advan and winter tires in Europe.

As for standard tires, which account for 50% of YRC’s passenger car tire sales, Yamaishi said the group is pursuing a “strategy of exploring opportunities in new markets and responding to the challenge from emerging Chinese tire makers.”

This approach, he added, has led to the construction of a new plant in Hangzhou, China, which is scheduled to start operations within a year of groundbreaking.

Like another project underway in Mexico, the unit is being built under YRC’s “1-year plant” concept, which enables the group to “quickly start up new plants and realise quick returns on our investments.”

The €460 million smart tire project in the Qiantang district of Hangzhou, in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang, will have a total capacity of 14 million passenger car tires, to be constructed in two phases.

The plant will produce 9 million units in the initial phase and expand capacity by another 5 million units in the second.

As previously reported by ERJ, the new facility is part of a factory relocation process within Hangzhou.

Yokohama’s existing plant in the city currently produces around 6 million passenger car tires annually.