Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. plans to expand its plant in Shinshiro City, Japan, to increase consumer tire production capacity. Construction is to begin in May 2016 and tire production is scheduled to start in June 2017.
The tire maker says the new production line will focus on high performance tires with wheel sizes 18 inches and larger. The expansion will increase the plant's annual production capacity for high performance tires by about 20%.
Yokohama says the expansion comes as the 18-inch and larger tires are adopted by the world's leading automakers as original equipment, and the global replacement market demand for the same tires is increasing. The company says, "These tires are highly profitable and demand is growing more than ever, so the company has decided to invest to expand its production capacity for these larger sizes."
The Shinshiro Plant has the largest annual production capacity for passenger car tires of any plant in the Yokohama group. The Shinshiro Plant and nearby Shinshiro-Minami Plant can produce a combined total of 16.9 million tires a year, as of December 2015.
