As of this morning, The Yokohama Rubber Company has received clearance from all relevant authorities to acquire the Trelleborg Wheel Systems business from Trelleborg. The final hurdle, approval by the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK, has now been cleared and Yokohama and Trelleborg can begin finalising the necessary documentation required to formally close the transaction.
On 24 March, the European Commission granted The Yokohama Rubber unconditional antitrust clearance to acquire all outstanding shares in Trelleborg Wheel Systems. The Competition and Markets Authority in the UK is currently reviewing the proposed acquisition and will announce its decision soon.
Full-year 2022 financial results show that – in terms of share price performance, at least – Japanese tyre manufacturers are leading the way on the global stage. Much has happened in the last five years, but five-year share price data is clear that the costs of chip shortages, shipping, dearer raw materials, pandemic and war have hit European and Western tyre brands harder than their Japanese counterparts. We compared the share performance of five of the largest European and Western tyre brands (namely: Michelin, Goodyear, Continental, Pirelli and Nokian) during the last five years with the leading Japanese-based tyre manufacturers (Bridgestone, Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Yokohama and Toyo Tires) in order to gain an insight into their relative performance.
In order to satisfy increasing local demand, Yokohama Rubber is expanding passenger car tyre production capacity in India. It will invest US$82 million in its Yokohama India manufacturing and sales subsidiary to increase capacity from 2.8 million tyres per annum to 4.5 million tyres.
A new facility for testing Yokohama winter tyres entered operation on 5 January. Yokohama Rubber opened the indoor ice circle facility at its Tire Test Center of Hokkaido to evaluate the turning performance of car, bus and truck winter tyres on icy surfaces, a characteristic it considers, after braking performance, the “second most important tyre performance on icy roads.”
While the fifth-generation Toyota Prius will not be sold in Europe, the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) edition will be launched in the market in spring 2023, rolling on Yokohama’s BluEarth-GT AE51 and BluEarth-FE AE30 tyres, like the conventional version. The news continues a long-term supply arrangement between the Japanese firms for the Prius range.
It isn’t coming to the UK – or Australia and New Zealand, for that matter – but many other markets are being introduced to the latest generation Toyota Prius this month. In Europe, the fifth-generation car will be exclusively available as a plug-in hybrid, and Toyota will launch this model in spring. Prius will be available from the factory on Yokohama tyres.
For the 18th year in a row, The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. has been included in the global stock index FTSE4Good Index Series, an achievement it says “reconfirms that the company’s ESG activities and disclosure practices meet the highest global standards.” The tyre, wheel and rubber products maker has also been selected to the FTSE Blossom Japan Index for the sixth straight year.
Trelleborg Wheel Systems will soon have a new owner, but not as soon as first announced. The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. now anticipates completing its acquisition of all outstanding shares in Wheel Systems Holding AB in the first half of 2023, rather than during the originally planned second half of 2022. Narrowing this timeframe further, Trelleborg Group says its divestment of the business is “likely in the first months of the year.”
Yokohama Rubber reports that the relocation to a new headquarters at the site of its Hiratsuka factory in Japan will commence 10 January 2023. The various head office departments will make the shift from Tokyo to Hiratsuka City in seven steps over the following two months, with the move complete by 6 March.
Many tyre makers have faced difficult decisions in the weeks and months since Russian troops first marched across Ukraine’s border on 24 February. Companies such as Nokian Tyres, Bridgestone, Continental, Michelin, Yokohama and Pirelli have needed to decide whether to continue operating their Russian plants. Four of these manufacturers are turning their backs on Russia or considering doing so, but two apparently are not.
Yokohama Rubber has announced it will cease supplying karting tyres at the end of this year. The tyre maker says its management team reached this decision “after careful consideration of various viewpoints” related to restructuring as part of the company’s mid-term management plan.
As reported on Tuesday, Yokohama Off-Highway Tires (YOHT) has opened its third factory in India. Yokohama Rubber has shared some additional details about the new plant in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, which alongside existing facilities in Dahej, Gujarat and Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu will produce YOHT’s core Alliance, Galaxy and Primex off-highway tyre brands.
During a ceremony held today and attended by local and regional officials, Yokohama Off Highway Tires (YOHT) inaugurated its newest factory in India and broke ground on the second stage of work at the site. Located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh state, the new plant is YOHT’s third in the country.
Yokohama Rubber hopes to speed up its tyre development process by implementing new rubber compounding technology that draws upon the power of artificial intelligence (AI). It is turning to a process that utilises AI-based compound generation technology to achieve user-set target property values.
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