US debut for Toyo Open Country A/T III EV

Toyo Tires has extended its all-terrain tyre range for North America to include a tyre aimed at electric trucks and SUVs. The tyre maker designed and is manufacturing the Toyo Open Country A/T III EV in the USA and plans to offer “a wide range of unique sizes and high-load combinations for 18- to 24-inch wheel diameters.” No word from Toyo so far about a UK or European launch.

“This on-/off-road all-terrain tyre is engineered from the ground up to align with the unique requirements of electric powered vehicles, including instant torque, rapid acceleration, the additional weight, and range efficiency,” states Toyo Tires. Building on the performance of the current Open Country A/T III, Toyo says the all-new EV version “delivers exceptional off-road performance as well as confidence-inspiring on-road handling and ride comfort.” The tyre also carries the 3PMSF marking.

“At Toyo Tires, we are enthusiasts, heavily involved in the off-road and overlanding communities across the country,” states Todd Bergeson, senior manager of Product Planning & Technical Services at Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. “We listen to our customers and continually strive to develop solutions to match their desires and make tyres people love. At the onset of this development, our goal was to support EV truck and SUV customers with a bespoke version of the Open Country A/T III, retaining the performance and appearance that our customers love, with innovative features added to maintain a high level of efficiency.

“This state-of-the-art EV-specific all-terrain replacement tyre for trucks and SUVs was designed, developed, and tested at our R&D facility in White, GA, USA,” Bergeson continues. “Each tyre in our Open Country product family is designed to fit a specific application and we are proud to fulfil this need for our EV consumers.”

Open Country A/T III EV (Image: Toyo Tires)

Available sizes

As mentioned, Toyo Tires will produce Open Country AT/III EV in many sizes and high-load combinations for 18- to 24-inch rims. The first LT size (LT275/60R20) will debut in February 2024 as an LT-metric upgrade for the Ford F-150 Lightning. Other OE and plus sizes of LT- and P/Euro-metric fitments have been developed and will arrive later in 2024, providing fitments for “today’s most popular EV trucks and SUVs” such as the Rivian R1T/R1S and GMC Hummer EV as well as upcoming vehicles.

Toyo Tires says it will continue to roll out more sizes as this segment grows with new vehicles becoming available in the future.