Sumitomo Rubber posted a decline in both sales and profit for the first half of the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025, but said its shift toward a more premium product mix continued to make progress. For the January–June period, revenue under IFRS came to 572.19 billion yen ($3.88 billion), down 2.5% from a year earlier. Business profit dropped 33.1%...
Tires
Sumitomo Rubber Introduces Circular Carbon Black in Racing Tires
Sumitomo Rubber has announced the adoption of circular carbon black in some of its racing tires, marking a significant step in the company’s circular economy initiative known as Towanowa. This marks the company’s first application of resource-circulated carbon black in tire production. The new racing tires were used in the GT300 class of the 2025 Autobacs Super GT Round 4...
JATMA Releases Mid-Year Revision of 2025 Tire Demand Forecast
The Japan Automobile Tyre Manufacturers Association (JATMA) has announced a mid-year revision of its 2025 Japanese domestic tire demand forecast. According to the updated outlook, total demand for original equipment (OE) tires is now projected at 36.83 million units, representing a 1% increase year-on-year. Replacement tire demand has been revised to 63.647 million units, reflecting a slight decrease of 1%,...
Bridgestone Introduces First-Ever Studless Tire with Enliten Technology
Bridgestone will launch a new premium studless tire for passenger vehicles, the Blizzak WZ-1, starting in September 2025, available in 119 sizes. This tire introduces Bridgestone’s Enliten technology to studless tires for the first time, delivering what the company calls “unrivaled” ice performance and high performance across all road surfaces while contributing to sustainability, making it a “next-generation Blizzak.” Enliten,...
CITEXPO 2025 to Be Held in Shanghai This September
The 20th edition of the China International Tire Expo (CITEXPO 2025), the largest tire trade show in the Asia-Pacific region, will take place from September 3 to 5, 2025, at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center in Pudong, Shanghai. The event is organized by Reliable International Exhibition Services. CITEXPO is a leading B2B exhibition focused primarily on automotive...
Yokohama Rubber Secures Mizuho Eco Finance Financing Contract
Yokohama Rubber has signed a financing contract with Mizuho Bank for its Mizuho Eco Finance environmental evaluation loan product. Mizuho Eco Finance is designed to support corporate efforts toward a decarbonized society, offered by Mizuho Bank as an environmental evaluation financing product. Based on an environmental evaluation model developed by Mizuho Research & Technologies, companies are scored on their climate...