Yokohama Rubber plans to invest $82 million to expand its passenger car tyre production capacity in India to meet the increasing demands from the local market. With this investment the company is looking to increase its annual passenger car tyre production capacity in India by over 60 to 4.5 million tyres from the current 2.8 million tyres.
This new capacity will be installed in its Visakhapatnam plant in Andhra Pradesh. The new line is scheduled to start production in the fourth quarter of 2024 and will be capable of building passenger car tyres up to 22 inches, the company said in a statement.
India operations of Yokohoma
Yokohoma India (YIN) has been in operation since 2007 and has contributed to a sharp increase in sales of Yokohoma branded tyres in the Indian market. The tyres sold in India are specifically designed for Indian driving conditions. By producing tyres that meet local market needs and expanding its sales channel, YIN has grown rapidly and has made India one of Yokohama Rubber’s most important markets, claims the company.
“India’s automobile industry has been expanding rapidly, with its total automobile sales volume in 2022 surpassing that of Japan, making India the third largest automobile market in the world. Yokohama Rubber expects this growth to continue in the future. To support this growth, the company has steadily expanded YIN’s annual production capacity — from an initial 700,000 tyres in 2014 to 1.53 million in 2019 and 1.96 million in 2021. From January 2023, YIN has been operating its plant at an annual capacity of 2.8 million,” added the statement.