Yokohama Rubber expanding automotive hose plant in Mexico

Hiratsuka, Japan – Yokohama Rubber Co. (YRC) is investing an undisclosed amount to expand its automotive hose assembly plant in Mexico as part of efforts to strengthen profitability and support growth in its hose & couplings business.

The project includes the construction of a new building on 32,000 sq.m. of recently acquired land adjacent to the existing plant in San Francisco Industrial Park, doubling the factory’s size, said YRC 27 Oct.

Construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2025, with operations expected to start in the fourth quarter of the following year.

YRC did not provide capacity details but said it expects to expand the site further in the future.

The Mexican facility is YRC’s base for manufacturing air-conditioning and transmission oil-cooling hose assemblies for the North American market.

The capacity expansion in Mexico, it said, aims to strengthen the profitability of its North America hose operations and support the growth of its hose & couplings business.

YRC has identified hoses & couplings operations, part of its multiple business (MB) segment, as a growth driver under its Yokohama Transformation 2026 (YX2026) programme.

The group said it is restructuring the segment’s value chain and North American production network.

YRC opened the automotive hose assembly plant in Mexico in 2015, assembling automotive hoses including air-conditioning and transmission oil cooler hoses, with output primarily sold to car makers in Mexico.