The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. could phone up the team at Guinness World Records, were it so inclined. Each and every one of the company’s earnings figures for the six months to 30 June 2021 were the highest ever for the first half of a fiscal year.
Yokohama returned as official tyre partner to The Classic, the world’s biggest classic motor racing festival hosted by Silverstone, this year. The tyre manufacturer, whose flagship Advan range has wide-ranging motorsport and classic car models and fitments, welcomed both classic car enthusiasts and families to the event, presenting a range of eye-catching rare vehicles at its stand and co-hosting the Chelsea FC Skills Zone. The football club held football skill sessions for 250 children with coaching by the Chelsea FC Foundation and giveaways and prizes. Action from the track is making it to TV screens this week on ITV4, with highlights broadcast tonight (11 August) at 8pm and on Thursday (12 August) at the same time and channel.
With an additional investment of US$171 million, Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. intends to more than double the production capacity for off-highway tyres at its Visakhapatnam plant in India. The new plant is scheduled to begin operations in the first quarter of 2023 with a planned daily production capacity of 55 tonnes; this extra investment will lift daily capacity to 123 tonnes during a second project stage, which is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2024.
Cars running on Yokohama Advan tyres have finished first in two open tyre supply divisions of the 99th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, which took place in Colorado, USA, on 27 June. The division champions were Raphael Astier, driving a 2015 Porsche BBI Turbo Cup in the Pikes Peak Open Division, and Randy Pobst, driving his 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid in the Exhibition Division.
A rare and valuable Toyota Supra Mk4 TRD 3000GT featured in a hit YouTube video has been fitted with Yokohama’s high performance Advan A052 tyres. With a view count over 900,000 in a few weeks, motoring journalist Mat Watson gives the striking Advan-liveried car and its tyres a thorough workout in a series of tests which showcase the car’s capabilities.
Yokohama is supplying its Advan racing tyres to seven cars entered by four teams in the 49th Nürburgring 24-Hour Endurance Race (3-6 June). Supported teams include Walkenhorst Motorsport, a BMW customer racing team that entered into a partnership agreement with Yokohama Rubber last year. Four Walkenhorst machines will run on Advan tyres, including three BMW M6 GT3 cars competing in the top-level SP9 class. The cars will use the Advan A005 for dry conditions and the A006 for wet conditions.
The eleven leading tyre manufacturer members of WBCSD’s Tire Industry Project (TIP) have launched a Roadmap to accelerate tyre value-chain impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 to address some of the world’s most pressing issues by 2030. The members of TIP, in alphabetical order, are: Bridgestone, Continental, Cooper Tire, Goodyear, Hankook, Kumho Tire, Michelin, Pirelli, Sumitomo Rubber, Toyo Tires, and Yokohama Rubber.
At the end of March, Yokohama Rubber sold its headquarters building in central Tokyo. The company is now preparing to shift its headquarters functions to its Hiratsuka factory, which is located some 40 miles south of Tokyo, in Kanagawa Prefecture. It will gain 20.8 billion yen (£134.9 million) from the sale of the headquarters building – and will use the funds to fuel growth in key areas.
On 6 May 2021 Yokohama Europe GmbH, signed an agreement to acquire 100 per cent of Poland’s ITR CEE Spółka z.o.o., a wholesale distributor engaged in the import and sale of Yokohama tyres in central and eastern Europe. The acquisition is scheduled to be concluded on 14 May 2021, after which the Polish company’s name will be changed to Yokohama CEE Spółka z.o.o.
Another original equipment approval for the Yokohama Advan Sport V107. Yokohama Rubber is delivering this particular tyre to BMW M GmbH for factory-fitment on the BMW M3 saloon and BMW M4 coupe in the front wheel size 275/40ZR18 (103Y) and rear wheel size 285/35ZR19 (103Y). Supply began last November and complements Yokohama’s original equipment presence on the BMW M5.
Yokohama has sold its Hamatite automotive and construction sealent business to Swiss company Sika Group AG in a transfer that is scheduled to be completed on 1 November 2021. Yokohama hasn’t released exactly how much Sika is paying for the Hamatite business, but management expects to post a gain on the sale of about ¥5 billion (£33 million; 38 million euros; US$46 million – after tax). However, the exact amount is said to be “subject to change”.
Yokohama Tire is returning as the title sponsor of the Yokohama NORRA Mexican 1000 for the fifth consecutive year. And this time the tyremaker is bringing along elite drivers such as Justin Lofton and new Team Yokohama member Tanner Foust for the 54th running of the iconic rally, which takes place on the famed Baja peninsula 25-29 April 2021.
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. has announced a global first, the development of a technology for efficiently producing butadiene from a biomass. It achieved this breakthrough via the ‘Bio-monomer Production Laboratory’, which the company established jointly with Riken and Zeon Corporation.
Yokohama’s Advan Sport V107 has been approved for fitment on the Mercedes-AMG GLB 35 4MATIC. The SUV went on sale in Europe in December 2019. The GLB 35 can be outfitted with 21-inch 255/35ZR21 98Y size Advan Sport V107 tyres. The deal expands Yokohama’s already thriving relationship with Mercedes-AMG.
Yokohama is supplying its Advan Sport V107 tyres to BMW for the manufacturer’s new iX3. The German marque’s first sports activity vehicle (SAV) with an all-electric-drive system uses three sizes of the Advan Sport V107 on the new electric SAV: 245/50R19 105W, 245/45R20 103W, and 275/40R20 106W. Yokohama began shipping the tyres to the BMW Group in September 2020.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.
EMIS
Yokohama
Daimler
BMW