Yokohama to Manufacture Tyres in Brazil, Russia

To meet growing demand in Russia and Brazil, Yokohama Rubber intends to begin manufacturing passenger car tyres in these two countries, with production commencing as early as 2010. Tyre supply in both markets is currently met with tyres manufactured in Japan and the Philippines, however a company spokesman reports that the combination of strong business prospects and the opportunity to avoid high import tariffs has led to the decision to set up local operations.

“It makes more sense to produce tyres there and sell them directly in the region,” he said. “We’ll keep shipping value-added products from Japan. The spokesman added that the facilities in Brazil and Russia will “start small and expand if and when sales increase.”

Detailed decisions on the plants, including capacity and location, should be complete by March 2009. The construction of two facilities each with an annual capacity of a million tyres would cost about 10 billion yen (£46.59 million) in total, the spokesman added.

The company has set its annual passenger car tyre sales target in Russia at 2.5 million units for the fiscal year starting April 2011, up 150 per cent from 2007/08 sales. In South America it will aim to sell between 1 million and 1.2 million tyres in the same year, up 25 to 50 per cent from 2007/08.