Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) is faced with a rather unfavorable business environment for its studless winter tires at present, impacted by this fiscal year’s reduction in new car sales and a relatively mild winter. Still, the company is making efforts to grow sales for these tires, focusing its efforts on the Blizzak VRX2 and Blizzak VRX lines in particular. As part...
Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (TYO:5110) has released “Road To You: Kioku ni Mau Konayuki,” an anime music video promoting the company’s Winter Maxx series of Dunlop-branded studless winter tires. Released on a special webpage on Oct. 3, the video is the third such anime promotion for the company’s Winter Maxx series. “Road To You: Kioku ni Mau Konayuki” tells the...
Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) is set to launch a new product under its Blizzak brand of studless winter tires. Named the Blizzak DM-V3, this SUV- and 4×4-exclusive tire offers improvements to both traction on icy surfaces and braking performance on wet surfaces. It is scheduled to begin hitting the market on Aug. 1. As a studless winter tire for SUVs and...
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...
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...
Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. (TYO:5105) recently announced that it has won a 2018 Good Design Award for its M925 snow tire, a product made exclusively for snowplows. Launched in July 2017, the M925 is designed to improve snowplow performance. The tire sets itself apart with its tread: while conventional studless tires for trucks and buses adopt a symmetric...
