American Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. Ltd. is expanding its original equipment (OE) projects by serving as the named tire supplier for the new Slate Truck, a customizable electric vehicle (EV.)
Kenda will research, develop and produce OE and accessory tires for the “Blank Slate,” Slate Auto's base model vehicle, which is a two-door, two-seat pickup truck that can be customized with over 100 accessories.
Slate Auto, a Michigan-based electric vehicle startup company backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, aims to be an affordable EV option for consumers with its latest truck, which can also be upgraded to a five-seat SUV.
“This gives us a unique partnership,” said Joshua Herron, director of engineering for Kenda. “As Slate is understanding how to be an OE vehicle company, we wanted to work with them and collaborate on this new vehicle.”
Scheduled to start production in late-2026, the Slate truck will be built in Warsaw, Ind., and will be available to order online. Slate Auto says that over 160,000 people have placed a $50 refundable deposit down, which essentially holds buyers’ places “in line” to preorder their vehicle.
The price of Slate vehicles are targeted around $20,000 for a base model, but various upgrades and customizations – such as seat upgrades, roof details and speakers – could bring a higher cost.
Herron said Kenda’s collaboration with Slate accelerates the tiremaker's OE efforts and builds on projects in other segments.
Kenda says its American Technical Center in Akron, Ohio, will serve as the support and research facility for original equipment projects, such as Slate.
The facility is one of four Kenda research centers in the world. Its research, development and material engineering teams work across the tire company’s bicycle, power sports, passenger, light truck and non-pneumatic tire product lines.
