Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. and YHI Corp. have contractually agreed upon a sales concept for Nitto brand passenger car tires in the China market, with Toyo responsible for developing the tire.
YHI Corp., based in Shanghai, China, is a subsidiary of the YHI International Ltd., which is headquartered in Singapore.
Toyo's goal is to increase the sales volume of Nitto tires from 6.75 million units in fiscal 2010 to 16.9 million in fiscal 2015, the target year for the company's 2011 Mid-Term Business Plan. (Toyo's fiscal year ends June 30.)
Toyo also plans to increase the Nitto brand’s percentage within Toyo’s brands from 9% in 2010 to 15% by 2015.
"Together with expanding the sales in North America, which is its current base, there are plans to globally spread the regions in which the Nitto brand is developed, into Asia, South America, Oceania, etc.," says Toyo. China has been singled out as "the pillar to the growth strategy."
As part of its 2011 Mid-Term Plan, Toyo has set the sales target for the tire business in fiscal 2015 at 310 billion yen (a 143.1% increase compared to fiscal 2010) and operating profit at 24 billion yen (a 269.6% comparative increase). To help achieve its goals, Toyo
* acquired a passenger car tire manufacturer in Malaysia in December 2010.
* partnered with a truck and bus tire manufacturer in China (Toyo called it a "subsidarization") in June 2011.
There are further plans underway to start new operations of localized passenger car tire plants in China in December 2011, and in Malaysia in April 2013, adds the company.
