Yokohama establishes dedicated tire sale company in Vietnam

Hiratsuka, Japan—The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced that in November 2023, it spun off the sales unit of its Vietnam tire production and sales subsidiary Yokohama Tyre Vietnam Inc. (YTVI) into a new dedicated sales company, Yokohama Tyre Sales Vietnam Co., Ltd. (YTSV). YTSV will begin operations on January 1, 2024, and YTVI becomes a dedicated tire production company.

Yokohama Rubber considers the ASEAN region to be a high-priority market and regards Vietnam as a growth market within the region. The Company first entered the Vietnam market in November 1997 when it established joint venture tire production and sales company. In May 2006, it established YTVI as a wholly owned subsidiary and has since raised its presence in the local market by strengthening local production and marketing of YOKOHAMA tires. However, considering the rapid increase in demand for radial tires for passenger cars and trucks in Vietnam in recent years, Yokohama Rubber has decided that establishing separate production and sales companies is essential to expanding its business in Vietnam.

To date, YTVI has been engaged in local production and sales of bias tires used on motorcycles, small trucks, industrial machinery, and as spare tires for passenger cars, while also importing and marketing Yokohama Rubber radial tires for passenger cars and trucks. The establishment of a dedicated sales company is targeted at expanding sales of YOKOHAMA tires in the Vietnam market.

The establishment of separate tire production and sales companies in Vietnam is Yokohama Rubber’s latest initiative to promote product and regional business strategies focused on increasing sales of tires that respond to specific trends in each regional market, which are a core element in Yokohama Transformation 2023 (YX2023), the Company’s medium-term management plan for fiscal years 2021–2023.