In response to the increased demand driven by strong sales of SUV and light truck high-performance tyres in the North American market, Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) is investing US$96 million to nearly double its capacity in its US factory’s daily maximum limit, from the current 6,500 tyres/day to 12,000 tyres/day, by the end of 2023. At the same time, in response to increasing sales of truck and bus tyres in North America, the company is investing US$26 million to increase production capacity in these categories at its US factory from the current 1,750 tyres/day to 2,300 tyres/day by the end of 2024.
In addition, SRU is also investing in updating production equipment at our factories in Thailand and Miyazaki (Japan) in order to shift toward increased overall production of tyres for SUVs and light trucks. With this shift, these two factories will support the push to increase sales of SUV and light truck tyres in North America by producing 4,150 of these tyres/day by the end of 2023 in Thailand; and 1,600 of these tyres/day by the end of 2024 in Miyazaki. The total value of our planned investment in these two factories is JPY 10.8 billion.