Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (TYO:5110) plans to appoint Satoru Yamamoto, currently a director and senior executive officer at the company, to the role of President and CEO, effective March 26. Current CEO and president Ikuji Ikeda will then move into the role of chairman and representative director. Yamamoto has a long history of working with domestic tire replacements. Following this,...
Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) is looking to boost sales of its Blizzak VRX and Blizzak VRX2 lines of passenger car studless tires. While the company managed strong sales for its VRX2 line last year, a representative said that this was largely due to the appeal of it being a new product at the time, adding that the plan this season is...
Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. (TYO:5105) is focusing its sales of studless winter tires on the Winter Tranpath TX, a tire launched last year for exclusive use with boxy cars, including SUVs and minivans. The Winter Tranpath TX helps to limit the characteristic wobbling of high-roofed, boxy cars. And as a studless winter tire specialized for use with these...
Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (TYO:5110) plans to launch Japanese sales of the Dunlop Sportmax Q4 hypersport radial motorcycle tire. Developed and produced in the U.S., the tire is set for phased-in Japanese sales from March 1, 2019. One front tire size and five rear tire sizes are to go on sale. The first Sumitomo Rubber hypersport radial to be sold...
While snowy conditions around Japan have started later than average this winter, recent developments are hinting at a more favorable tailwind for sales of studless winter tires. Coming into mid-December, northern Japan is finally seeing full-fledged winter conditions, while elsewhere even parts of the Kanto region are beginning to see snowfall. Publishing a demand forecast this summer for the second...
Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) CEO Masaaki Tsuya recently sat down for an interview with Japan Rubber Weekly. Talking about the importance of service networks in the tire industry, Tsuya said that these will be crucial going forward as lifestyle changes exert an influence on the market. As a general rule, Tsuya said, customers buy tires not because they want to but...
