Yokohama has announced today that it is expanding its passenger car tyre production capacity in India to meet the increasing demands from the local market.
With an additional investment of US$82 million (Rs 679 crore), the company looks to increase its annual passenger car tyre production capacity in India with Yokohama India, its local passenger car tyre manufacturing and sales subsidiary, from the current 2.8 million to 4.5 million tyres.
This new capacity will be installed within the premises of the Visakhapatnam Plant. 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.
Yokohama India has been in operation since 2007 and the tyres sold in India are specifically designed for Indian driving conditions. The company has grown rapidly and has made India one of Yokohama Rubber’s most important markets.
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 Yokohama India’s annual production capacity—from an initial 700,000 tyres in 2014 to 1.53 million in 2019 and 1.96 million in 2021. Since January 2023, the company has been operating its plant at an annual capacity of 2.8 million.