Yokohama and Continental Terminate Their Joint Venture

March 8, 2016

Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. and Continental AG are ending their joint venture company, Yokohama Continental Tire Co. Ltd. (YCC), effective at the end of March 2016.

YCC was formed in 2002, in order to meet Japanese and Korean carmakers’ requirement of global procurement, and a press release from Yokohama said "it has brought great success for the last 14 years."

In the meanwhile, Yokohama and Continental have been expanding their global production networks, and the primary purpose of YCC has been achieved. The two tire makers now will focus on expanding their individual businesses throughout the world.

Yokohama operates 14 tire plants in eight countries around the world and employs about 22,000 people globally. Its consolidated sales in fiscal year 2015 (ending Dec. 31, 2015) totaled 629.9 billion yen.

Continental generated preliminary sales of approximately 39.2 billion euros in 2015 with its five divisions, chassis and safety, interior, powertrain, tires, and ContiTech. Continental employs more than 208,000 people in 53 countries.