Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. (TYO:5101) is making a push to grow sales for its lineup of studless winter tires. Efforts here are centered on the iceGuard 6 line, which launched around four years ago and is known internationally as the iceGuard iG60. However, there is also a focus on the iceGuard 5 Plus, a mass-market line; the iceGuard SUV G075,...
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Osaka Exchange, Thailand Futures Exchange Establish New Futures Market for Japanese Natural Rubber
Osaka Exchange Inc. (OSE) and Thai Futures Exchange PCL (TFEX) have come to an agreement regarding a new futures market for Japanese natural rubber. Based on this agreement, TFEX launched a market named Japanese Rubber Futures on Nov. 30, with this being a cash-settled natural rubber futures market based on the final settlement price of OSE’s own Natural Ribbed Smoke...
Recovery in Automotive Production Sees Rubber Products Sector Spring Back in September
With automotive production recovering, there has also been steady improvement in both production and shipment results for rubber products. According to figures released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) for September, Japan’s monthly production and shipments of rubber products came to a value of almost 181.4 billion yen ($1.74 billion), down just 8.2 percent against the same...
Bridgestone Works With Kumamoto University to Develop Electric Bus Tire
Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) has developed a prototype tire specifically for electric buses, achieving this by way of joint research with Kumamoto University’s Faculty of Advanced Science and Technology. The hope is that this will contribute to the rollout of sustainable public transport. Intended to help reduce the total running costs of electric buses, the prototype tire has been designed specifically...
Mitsubishi Chemical’s Carbon Fiber SMC Finds Use in Roof of New Toyota GR Yaris
Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. recently announced that its carbon fiber sheet molding compound (SMC) has been adopted for use in the roof of the new GR Yaris launched in September by Toyota Motor Corp. (TYO:7203). In selecting this SMC, Toyota judged that the material would be able to facilitate both significant lightweighting and a high level of component performance while also...
Sumitomo Rubber Tests TPMS to be Used in Level 4 Autonomous Driving
Looking to help achieve Level 4 autonomous driving, Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (TYO:5110) has built an integrated system that handles everything from obtaining tire pressure data through to facilitating maintenance for detected issues. The company recently subjected this system to proof-of-concept testing on public roads in Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, on Nov. 12. This system comes as part of a joint...
