Yokohama Rubber opens its new Hangzhou tyre plant, built in just one year under the YX2026 plan, boosting capacity and supporting China’s growing market.
New Yokohama Hangzhou Facility Begins Operations
Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. (Yokohama Rubber) has officially opened its new passenger car tyre plant in Hangzhou City, China, with a ceremony attended by its President and COO Shinji Seimiya, as well as many representatives from the local community.
The plant in Hangzhou is the first plant built under the “1-year plant” challenge. It is part of Yokohama Rubber‘s consumer tyre business growth strategy set forth in the company’s medium-term management plan called the Yokohama Transformation 2026, implemented during 2024-2026.
According to the Yokohama Transformation 2026, any technology and production strategy must be implemented with “low cost, speedy development”, and the plant in China is proof that Yokohama Rubber could construct an entire tyre plant in only one year. Construction began in December 2024 and was completed ahead of schedule, making it capable of production from November 2025.
In his ceremony-opening greeting, President and COO Seimiya expressed his gratitude to the many people whose efforts contributed to the rapid completion of the plan’s construction. He also noted that the Hangzhou plant is a crucial project for Yokohama Rubber‘s sustainable growth in the future and that every effort will be made to quickly achieve mass production and deliver high-quality, high-value-added products to the Chinese market as soon as possible.
The new plant was built after the Hangzhou government requested the relocation of a previously existing plant as part of the city’s environmental measures. The new plant has an annual production capacity of 9 million tyres, about 3 million more than its predecessor. Full-scale production is expected to start by the second quarter of 2026, with production of tyres for new energy vehicles and high-inch tyres being the main focuses.
Aside from the “1-year plant” challenge, Yokohama Rubber‘s consumer tyre strategy also dictates the maximisation of sales ratios by expanding sales of the ADVAN and GEOLANDAR brands, as well as winter tyres and 18-inch or larger tyres. Yokohama Rubber is also implementing “Product and Regional Strategies” focused on strengthening the development, supply, and sale of tyres that respond to specific trends in each regional market.
