Completed ahead of schedule, Hangzhou plant has capacity to produce 9m tires/year in first phase
Tokyo – Yokohama Rubber Co (YRC) has held an opening ceremony for its new passenger car tire plant in Hangzhou, marking the group's first facility completed under the “1-year plant” strategy.
Construction on the €460-million smart tire project began in December last year and the plant reached start-up in November, one month ahead of plan, said YRC 1 Dec.
The facility 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 initial phase will have the capacity to produce 9 million units of tires, including high-inch and EV-fitment products, with full-scale production scheduled for the second quarter of 2026.
Speaking at the opening event, president & COO Shinji Seimiya said the new site was “a very important project for Yokohama Rubber’s sustainable growth.”
YRC, he said, will work to “quickly achieve mass production and deliver high-quality, high-value-added products to the Chinese market.”
As previously reported by ERJ, the new facility is part of a factory relocation process within Hangzhou.
YRC’s old plant in the city had a capacity to produce 6 million passenger car tires annually.
The project forms part of YRC’s medium-term management plan, Yokohama Transformation 2026 (YX2026), which aims for “low-cost, speedy development of quality products.”
It also supports YRC’s consumer tire strategy under YX2026, which targets higher sales ratios of premium tires, including Advan, Geolandar, Winter (AGTW) lines, and 18-inch-plus products.
The Japanese group said it was also pursuing regional strategies to strengthen development, supply and sales aligned to local market needs.
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