Toyo sets up Thai affiliate

On the first day of April, Toyo Tire & Rubber established a wholly-owned affiliate in Thailand, Toyo Tire (Thailand) Co., Ltd. The operation is responsible for selling original equipment and aftermarket sales in this Southeast Asian country; original equipment business is scheduled to begin in April, while the affiliate is expected to begin its aftermarket activities in July. The operation employs 11 staff and is headed up by Kanji Kasai as managing director. Kasai also serves as general manager of Toyo Tire & Rubber’s Asia Oceania business unit.

Toyo says the establishment of Toyo Tire (Thailand) is part of its Asia growth strategy for its tyre business unit. The car market in the ASEAN nations has been growing rapidly in recent years and numerous vehicle production sites have been established within the region; Toyo says the industry has been built up on a scale equal to that of the Chinese market. Thailand is Southeast Asia’s largest car market, and with a year-on-year increase in February 2013 of over 40 per cent in terms of volume of cars sold, its growth is remarkable even within this expanding region. 

Toyo Tires has positioned Thailand as a vital strategic market in Southeast Asia. Prior to the establishment of Toyo Tire (Thailand), the company sold the Toyo brand of tyres through local distributors. The Japanese tyre maker expects to capture and increasingly greater share of the growing demand in Thailand through the establishment of the affiliated. In addition to enhancing replacement market sales with local sales channels and seeking further original equipment deals, the new operation will “aggressively promote” the sales of light truck tyres – SUV and pick trucks account for more than half the cars owned in Thailand.  

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