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Where are Yokohama tires made? Yokohama tires Who makes yokohama

Many motorists in the Russian Federation sooner or later face the need to replace tires on their vehicles. This happens due to the change of seasons in the country, as well as due to wear of old tires, careless driving or after an accident. However, not every tire manufacturer meets the requirements for quality, reliability and durability, which creates a real problem for the car owner.

To solve it, people often turn to various reviews in print and electronic media, as well as to forums where real users of a particular brand make up their own tire ratings. Yokohama has been one of the best tire manufacturers in the world for many years.

Yokohama plant in Japan

Yokohama tires are products of the brand of the same name, founded in 1917 in Japan, and for more than 100 years, it has earned an impeccable reputation among many millions of customers.

This world-famous company has many clear advantages over its competitors, which include the following facts:

  • "Yokohama" tires, manufacturer - Japan. The company produces only high-quality products with premium status, as evidenced by the presence of factories in Singapore, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and not in China or another Asian country.
  • Over the many years of the brand's existence, Yokohama management has been involved in investments for the innovative development of polymer materials, which is why the quality and composition of rubber have better properties compared to analogues of other brands.
  • Almost all of the company’s products contain silicate additives, which increases the friction ability of tires when driving on any surface. That is, when Yakohama wears out, the tires become even more stable during operation.
  • The company's own design department contains a large staff of designers, engineers and technologists, who year after year develop new, more advanced tire models.
  • Before launching into mass production and re-equipping the conveyor, each new product undergoes a series of laboratory and field tests, during which it is assigned the necessary ratings and indices for wear resistance, grip on wet roads or the ability to withstand high temperatures.
  • The design capacity of the enterprise's production bases allows it to fully meet the needs of the market around the world, which is why the company has its own distribution points in almost every country.
  • As for the size range, the company produces tires for all types of vehicles, both for passenger cars, from small cars to full-size SUVs, and for trucks.

Yokohama sports tires

Characteristics and parameters of Japanese Yokohama cargo wheels

Almost all enterprises involved in cargo transportation in the Russian Federation and abroad have their own fleets of heavy-duty long road trains. Of course, these trucks travel hundreds of thousands of kilometers a year, and the road does not spare Ekohama tires.

This leads to the fact that the company must have its own tire fitting and warehouse of relevant products. Most carriers turn to the Yokohama brand when purchasing products from the official representative office. The main parameters and properties of these tires are listed below:

  • Road - presented in models such as RY407, TY517E, RY357, BLUEARTH 110L, 107ZL, 106ZS and ensure vehicle stability in any climate zone, regardless of temperature and quality of the road surface. First of all, they are designed for long-distance (from 200 km) non-stop transportation.
  • Regional - less demanding and expensive tires, on which a heavy vehicle can easily cover the distance between neighboring autonomous okrugs (up to 2000 km). The produced model range is RY023, TY607, TY303, RY253, RY023T and some other modifications.
  • “Ekohama” ON/OFF wheels are special products of the brand that provide ideal maneuverability on the most inaccessible sections of roads, which is very useful for those companies that service construction sites or manufacturing enterprises. The most popular options for such tires are MY547, LY717, MY507A, MY507T.

Truck tires Yokohama ON OFF
  • Winter - designed for extreme operating conditions in the Far North and other countries, where snow cover prevails for more than 9 months a year, and under a layer of hard soil there is a layer of permafrost. These tires are distinguished by a special rubber composition and soft, but at the same time durable treads that improve traction on snow and slippery roads due to sharp sipes. The main models in this series are TY287, 902W, 901ZS and MY507T.
  • Urban - at the beginning of 2019, there is only one model in various sizes - RY537, with huge treads that ensure normal driving at medium speeds on flat roads of a big city. As a rule, they are used for shuttle buses operating short distances.
  • The touring tires are the latest in Yokohama's line of truck tires that are fitted to passenger buses for long-distance transport, and they can easily travel more than 2,000 km without stopping, as far as fuel capacity allows. Currently, the brand has 2 modifications of these products - 104ZR, 107ZL.

Yokohama Blueearth tires

When purchasing the original Yakohama tire models listed above, the company provides a multi-year guarantee on quality, wear resistance and durability when driving at any distance, if the driver operates them according to the rules prescribed by the manufacturer.

The composition of this rubber and the rigidity of the cords with additional ribs protect the wheel from deformation in accordance with the speed and load index. The driver can safely make sharp maneuvers without worrying about accidental rupture of products or the formation of hernias, which leads to a weakening of the overall structure of the tire, and in some cases, to an accident.

Yokohama Bluearth tire size and dimensions

Recently, the company has been producing truly revolutionary summer tires for cars and SUVs called the Yokohama Bluearth series.

This rubber has many advantages over its competitors due to its chemical composition and special tread pattern on the traction surface with soil or asphalt:

  • First of all, the protectors are able to withstand high temperatures, as indicated by the Temperature A index, and even in very hot weather and overheated asphalt they do not soften and do not reduce the dynamic characteristics of the vehicle.
  • The design of rigid treads reduces the tire's rolling resistance when driving fast on overheated surfaces by up to 20% compared to competing brands, and this significantly reduces fuel consumption.
  • Ekohama tires have class AA or A when driving on wet roads and are not capable of causing hydroplaning, slipping or skidding on sharp turns, even during heavy rain.

Yokohama winter tires
  • The last advantage is that these tires, thanks to well-thought-out ergonomics and based on numerous tests, have the lowest noise level among competitors - less than 60 decibels when driving on smooth, dry asphalt.
  • Ranges of dimensional parameters allow you to select products for almost any model of a small family passenger car, namely radii R13-R17, clutch surface width - 145-225 mm, side surface height - rubber profile - 45-80. All these characteristics give freedom of choice to both fans of high-speed driving on low-profile Yokohama tires, and drivers who prefer softness and comfort when driving.
  • The Yokohama tire speed index, depending on the size, is S, T, H, V, W, which corresponds to absolute dynamics indicators of 180, 190, 210, 240 and 270 km/h.
  • The load index of these wheels ranges from 71 to 99, which is equivalent to the ability to load each wheel up to 345-775 kg or the average weight of a car from 1.4 to 3 tons.

Yokohama Bluearth tires are designed primarily for compact cars with low engine displacement, as well as small family vehicles, such as minivans for 4...5 people. If any driver sees that the wheels may fit on his SUV or crossover, which is used a lot on rough terrain, he needs to remember that the driving properties of these tires are designed exclusively for asphalt pavement with minimal off-road driving.


Yokohama winter tire test

How to choose original Yokohama tires

A car enthusiast who wants to purchase Yokohama tires should remember that the famous brand is often counterfeited, and this leads to the fact that you can accidentally purchase a replica that does not have half the positive qualities of the original. To prevent this from happening, the manufacturer advises paying attention to direct and indirect signs confirming the authenticity of the products:

  • First of all, you should know that the brand cares about its popularity and never makes a difference between wholesale and retail prices. Each dealer must comply with the company’s pricing regulations, and in almost all retail outlets the cost of products of the same brand will not differ from each other.

In the case of a fake, the selling price for the distributor is always lower, and the buyer may be interested in a very attractive price, which indicates that this is not an original, but a replica.

  • All Yokohama tires have clear full markings on the side surface, where you can easily read the name of the brand and this model, the serial number belonging to a specific batch, the year of production, all size parameters and indicators of the 5 main indices of Yokohama tires. Among them are the parameters of speed, load, wear resistance, thermal stability during dynamic driving and the indicator of grip on wet roads.
  • All Yokohama tires coming off the assembly lines are entered for a specific article into the enterprise’s electronic database, which is available to every Internet user. If you go to the official website, any consumer will find in its content a complete catalog of products and a calculator to determine the compatibility of a product for a specific car brand.

Thus, a buyer who doubts the authenticity of the product being offered to him can always compare the markings on it with the data in the electronic catalog and make sure that this is an original tire and not a cheap replica from a dubious manufacturer.

Particular attention should be paid to purchasing tires through an online store, which operate in large quantities in Russia. Because the consumer does not have the opportunity to verify the authenticity until all the wheels are delivered to him by courier. In such situations, you should choose only time-tested and reviewed outlets that cannot deceive the client.


Yokohama tire operation diagram

Yokohama tires are the market leaders for such products among competitors, and the driver who at least once decides to purchase a new product from the brand for his “iron horse”, without a doubt, will no longer be able to refuse to use the brand. For passenger cars, the company offers a large selection of products for winter use, both with and without studs, which is suitable for car enthusiasts not only in Russia, but also from those countries and regions where the use of studded tires is limited by law.

The Japanese manufacturer of automobile tires began its existence in 1910, when it was founded by the American B.F. Goodrich Company(now B.F. Goodrich) and Japanese Yokohama Cable Manufacturing Co. Ltd.(Now Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.). it was in the city of Yokohama, which is located in Kanagawa Prefecture. Two years later, the company's first plant was built there.

The tires that were produced at this plant were very innovative by Japanese standards. But in addition to tires, they also produced other products, to one degree or another related to cars. So, in 1921, the production of drive belts was launched, which turned out to be much more reliable than the leather ones used in those years. High quality contributed to the growing popularity of products, which, in turn, led to an increase in the range of products.

For the first time, products on which the brand stood Yokohama appeared in 1930. In 1934, the first, rather clumsy attempts to enter the international market began. And in 1935, a significant event occurred - these products began to be used as standard equipment for the company’s cars. Nissan And Toyota. But that's not all, Yokohama Rubber became the official tire supplier for the imperial court - as many as 24 tires per year.

The Second World War brought with it military orders that opened up activities in previously unfamiliar areas. In particular, the production of tires for Zero and Hayabusa fighters was launched. Just to keep up with orders for aircraft tires, an additional plant was built in Yokohama in 1944, which, by the way, is still operating today.

The end of the war led to a crisis in the entire Japanese economy. But, as was the case with many other Japanese companies, they managed to rise due to the Korean War, producing self-belting tires for the American military. And by 1957 Yokohama Rubber already produced rubber for jet aircraft. In general, the 50s of the last century became very productive for the company, which not only firmly found its feet, but also managed to expand sales markets and increase the range of products produced.

And, despite the fact that in the 60s the volume of production of car tires increased significantly, the main customers Yokohama Rubber there were military men. The matter has long been no longer limited to airplanes. The company actively developed the production of rubber components for both surface warships and submarines. In 1969 appears Yokohama Tire Corporation- American division of the company. In the future, there will be other subsidiaries in other countries of the world, for example Yokohama Tire (Canada) Inc., Yokohama Tire Australia Pty., Yokohama Tire Vietnam Inc., Yokohama Tire Philippines, Inc. and others.

To the mass consumer Yokohama Rubber It is best known as a manufacturer of tires for sports cars. The company maintains this reputation in every possible way, acting as the main supplier of tires for many major competitions, such as World Touring Car Championship. However, tires are produced for a wide variety of vehicles - from small sports sedans and large SUVs, to buses and trucks.

The company's headquarters is located in Tokyo, Japan. Yokohama Rubber Company belongs to many famous brands, such as ADVAN(especially popular in Japan), S.drive, Parada, AVID, Geolandar and others. Today it is one of the largest manufacturers of all kinds of products that are somehow related to rubber.


The world-famous Yokohama Rubber Company, Ltd., which produces automobile tires, was founded in 1917 in Yokohama with the participation of Kanazawa Prefecture and the Cable Manufacturing Company, Ltd. Two short years later, in the same city, the very first tire plant of this company was built and quickly put into operation.

Early history of the brand


The tires produced by this plant were quite innovative products for Japan at the beginning of the 20th century. In addition to tires, the company also produced other products that were related to one degree or another with the automotive industry. In 1921, the company launched the production of various rubber drive belts, which turned out to be much more reliable than leather belts, which were used everywhere in those distant years. The high quality of the products successfully contributed to the rapid growth of the popularity of the enterprise, which was constantly increasing its range.

For the first time tires with the brand Yokohama began to appear on the market in 1930, in 1934 the company began its first timid attempts to promote the young brand to the world market. The breakthrough occurred in 1935, when its tires began to be used by Toyota and Nissan as standard equipment for their cars. In the same significant year, the Yokohama company acquired the status of the official supplier of tires to the Japanese imperial court, with the obligatory supply of as many as twenty-four tires annually.

During the war period and after its end


During WWII, the company was bombarded with military orders, and it was even forced to begin activities in areas previously unfamiliar to it. For example, the production of tires for Japanese fighters was established. In order to keep up with orders for the production of aircraft tires, even another plant was built in 1944. It still works.

After the defeat of Japan in the war, a crisis began in the entire economy of the country. However, as happened with many Japanese enterprises, the tire manufacturer managed not to lose its business, since the company received orders from the American military to produce tires for aircraft that fought in Korea.

Despite the fact that in the sixties of the last century the company significantly increased the volume of production of automobile tires, its main customers still remained the military. The production of products for military orders has long been no longer limited exclusively to tires for aircraft wheels. The company actively developed production processes for various rubber components. In 1969, the company's division in the USA was registered and began operations.

Manufactured products


Any car enthusiast knows Yokohama as a famous tire manufacturer for sports cars. The company from Yokohama is trying in every possible way to maintain this reputation, which is well deserved by the quality of its “rubber”. It constantly acts as one of the main suppliers of tires for many major world competitions, such as, for example, the championship called World Touring Car. The Japanese company also produces tires for a wide variety of cars - from small sports sedans and large all-wheel drive SUVs, to large buses and trucks.

The head office has long moved to the capital of Japan, Tokyo. The company currently owns quite a few other well-known and popular brands, for example, ADVAN, which is especially popular in Japan itself, as well as Geolandar, AVID, Parada, S.drive and others. Currently, this company is one of the largest not only in Japan itself, but also in the world of manufacturers of all kinds of products related to the production of rubber technical products.

The Yokohama tire company plant is located near Lipetsk, in a special economic zone. This is Yokohama's fourteenth enterprise in the world, not counting factories producing other rubber products, and for the most part they are concentrated in Asia. The Lipetsk plant employs about 750 people, of which only nine are Japanese, among the managers. Even before the launch of production in 2012, our specialists completed an internship in Japan for a period of two to six months, and at first the work at the sites was supervised by foreigners.

The first stage of the enterprise is almost fully loaded: 1.6 million tires are produced per year - this is about 9% of the Russian market. The second and third stages will allow the production of up to five million pieces annually. The work process is continuous: 5,000 tires are produced per day. The defect rate is half a percent: inspectors send one tire out of two hundred for recycling.

About half of the raw materials are domestic: synthetic rubber, carbon black, sulfur, zinc oxide, antioxidants. Why not 100% localization? This is decided by the headquarters in Japan, where samples of components are tested. In addition, some of them, for example natural rubber, are produced only abroad.

Car tire production process

  1. Preparation of rubber mixture
  2. Parallel production of tire components: load-bearing structure, sidewall and tread
  3. The assembly process of the so-called “green” tire
  4. Crude tire vulcanization
  5. Checking the tire for compliance with technical requirements
Almost 13% of the output goes to the assembly line of the Russian Nissan automobile plant - in the future, the share of so-called first-generation tires is planned to be increased to 30%. The basis of production (about 80%) is tires with a seat diameter of 14–16 inches, but there are also 13- and 18-inch ones. At the same time, 30 standard sizes can be in production, although the equipment allows the production of winter and summer tires in 150 sizes.

The machines are ready to be retooled to produce a batch of only 48 tires! True, some specific models cannot be made here: for example, slicks and pseudo-slicks for the Russian circuit racing series are produced exclusively in Japan. At the same time, the junior class of the SMP RSKG rides on tires made in our country - last year it was the C.drive AC02 model, and from next season it will be replaced by the new Yokohama BluEarth.

Japanese tires Yokohama (Yokohama) occupy the middle price segment among all tire concerns. One of the most popular tires in the world, Yokohama rubber is produced in factories in various countries, but traditionally Japan is considered the tire manufacturing country.

Technologies and range of Yokohama rubber

The Japanese concern has several research centers that are developing the most modern and high-quality rubber compound composition. Yakohama tires use the engineering developments of the concern's specialists and use environmentally friendly materials. The concern donates huge amounts of money to charity and support for a healthy environment.

Today, tires for all types of transport leave the Yakohama plant. The lineup includes:

  • passenger tires
  • light truck tires
  • off-road tires
  • truck tires
  • sports tires
  • tires for heavy equipment

The Yokohama concern also produces special tires for factory-equipped vehicles. Regardless of where tires are manufactured, Yokohama ensures that they meet current environmental and performance standards.

The concern is the only manufacturer of tires for heavy equipment that meet the requirements of operation in the most severe conditions and operating modes. In Russia, these tires are not widely used, but they are actively used on quarry equipment in other countries of the world.

Yokohama tires can boast of using several of the latest developments:

  • BluEarth, which literally means “blue planet”, is a technology of economical fuel consumption and environmentally friendly rubber compound
  • Low-temperature, high-torque rubber compound technology improves wear resistance
  • Zenvironment - technology for reducing fuel consumption, environmental friendliness and increased wear resistance for truck tires

The Japanese concern keeps up with the times and does not lag behind its competitors. Yokohama's high-tech tires can be purchased all over the world and fitted to any vehicle, from the smallest to the largest.

Review of popular Yokohama tire models: reviews, prices

One of the oldest models is still popular today. You can buy Yokohama tires of this model from 1,400 rubles on the Internet. Customer reviews about the model are mostly positive. Among the advantages are highlighted:

  • handling on dry surfaces
  • wear resistance
  • softness

Among the shortcomings were poor braking on wet roads and a weak sidewall. There is no clear opinion about noise.

The model is included in the premium segment. You can buy tires from 2200 rubles for the 1st radius. Among the advantages mentioned in the reviews are:

  • controllability
  • strong sidewall
  • wear

Buyers consider the main disadvantage to be the country of production, which is Russia.

The flagship tire model is available in sizes from 13 to 16 radius. The minimum price is 1680 rubles. Among the advantages of Yakohama tires for this model, reviews mention handling on dry roads, lightness, softness, and reasonable cost. Among the shortcomings were uncertain behavior on wet roads and noise at speeds above 60 km/h.

Off-road tires have received a lot of rave reviews from car owners. The tires have no significant disadvantages. On dry and wet surfaces they showed confident handling, braking and grip. The tires also perform well off-road. You can buy Yokohama G012 tires from 3800 rubles for the 15th radius.

Sports tires are sold at a price of 6,200 rubles for 17th radius. User reviews note the excellent handling of the tires on any road and in corners. Disadvantages include noise and harshness. This model is not for lovers of comfort, but for racers, so its shortcomings are understandable.

Studded winter tires are sold from 1850 rubles for the 13th radius. Among the advantages noted were controllability in snow and ice and an acceptable noise level. Among the shortcomings were uncertain braking and the loss of half of the studs during the season.