Yokohama Rubber to invest $245m in new OTR tire plants in India, Mexico

Hiratsuka, Japan — Yokohama Rubber Co. (YRC) has announced plans to build two new off-the-road (OTR) tire plants in India and Mexico as part of efforts to expand production capacity following its acquisition of Goodyear’s OTR tire business. (ERJ report)

The projects involve a combined planned investment of about $245 million (€210 million) and are aimed at strengthening production network for mining, construction and agricultural machinery tires, including giant OTR tires, said YRC 15 May.

According to YRC, “OTR tire production acquired from Goodyear will be transferred to the new plants,” to “maximise the synergistic effect” of the acquisition under its medium-term management plan, Yokohama Transformation 2026 (YX2026).

The deal included specialised machinery, tooling and intellectual property assets linked to heavy OTR tire lines at Goodyear’s Topeka, Kansas facility, as well as a dedicated testing centre equipped with a 7-metre wheel testing machine for ultra-large mining and construction tires.

Because some of Goodyear’s major OTR production lines were embedded within larger multi-product manufacturing complexes, YRC did not acquire the entire factory sites.

Instead, Goodyear continues to manufacture certain OTR tires for YRC under a 'product supply agreement' covering an initial transition period of up to five years.

Against that backdrop, YRC said the new greenfield plant in Odisha, India, will have annual production capacity of 9,150 tonnes on a rubber-weight basis, supported by planned capital expenditure of $130 million.

Construction of the India facility is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2026, with production due to start in the third quarter of 2028.

According to YRC, the India plant “will take over a portion of the acquired OTR tire production that currently is outsourced to Goodyear plants in Europe, the US, and other regions.”

The second project involves a brownfield expansion in Saltillo, Mexico, at the same site where YRC is already building a passenger car tire plant.

The Mexico OTR plant will have annual production capacity of 10,650 tonnes and require planned investment of $115 million, YRC said.

Construction is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2026, with production scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2028.

YRC said the Mexico facility “also will take over a portion of the OTR tire production currently outsourced to Goodyear.”

The tire & rubber group added that it is “gradually transferring production of OTR tire from Goodyear plants” to a Romanian OTR tire plant acquired in May 2025, as well as to existing Yokohama production sites in Japan, the Czech Republic and India.

Furthermore, the group said it plans to “install new production equipment” at the facilities in order to expand capacity for giant or ultra-large OTR tires.

By “building a strong product lineup and expanding its production and supply capacity in all OHT categories,” YRC said it aims to strengthen the competitiveness of its off-highway tire business and “increase its overall corporate value.”