Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. (TYO:5101) recently announced that it is planning a staged domestic launch of the BluEarth-Es ES32, a standard tire that offers excellent fuel efficiency and economy, starting Oct. 1. The tire will be offered in a total of 92 sizes – ranging from 245/40R19 94W to 135/80R12 68S – and will be compatible with a wide selection...
Tires
Bridgestone Completes Azuga Acquisition
Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) has completed its acquisition of Azuga Holdings Inc., a U.S.-based provider of fleet management solutions. The tire manufacturer has already received regulatory approval and carried out the relevant proceedings for this deal. Azuga has been valued here at $391 million, with adjustments then being made based on its working capital and the like to get the total...

Sumitomo Rubber Creates New Design Technique to Boost Visibility, Designability of Tire Sidewalls
Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (TYO:5110) recently announced its establishment of Nano Black, a new design technique able to improve the visibility of lettering and patterns on tire sidewalls. In creating Nano Black, Sumitomo Rubber focused on the idea that the more times light strikes a light-absorbing surface, the blacker the resulting material looks. This then saw the company adopt a...
Toyo Tires Posts Record-High Profit for First Half of 2021
Toyo Tire Corp. (TYO:5105) has posted a strong set of business results for the first half of calendar 2021, including sales revenue of 186.39 billion yen ($1.7 billion), up 23.8 percent year-on-year; an operating profit of 26.96 billion yen, up 240 percent; an ordinary income of 29.22 billion yen, up 567.2 percent; and a net profit of 20.67 billion yen,...
Goodyear Forms Strategic Collaboration With Plus to Improve Self-Driving Truck Technology
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. recently announced that it has formed a strategic collaboration with PlusAI Inc. (Plus), a global provider of autonomous driving technology for trucks. By supplying a suite of services here – including connected tires – Goodyear aims to help further improve the transportation efficiency and safety of trucks based on Plus’s Level 4 autonomous driving technology...

Bridgestone Supplies Fuel-Efficient Ecopia R680 Tires for Popular Nissan Minivan
Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) recently announced that it is supplying its Ecopia R680 tires as OE for the Nissan NV200 Vanette. The NV200 Vanette finds use across a wide range of fields, including business, daily use and leisure, and is well regarded for the convenience it offers. Focused on providing next-level sustainability and mobility, the Ecopia R680 is positioned by Bridgestone...