Japan

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 26, 2025 - Yokohama Rubber is sharpening its focus on electric-vehicle OEM business in the automotive & mobility sector, confirming that its GEOLANDAR X-CV highway terrain tire is now factory-equipped on the newly updated Lexus RZ battery-electric SUV for the North American market. The 235/50R20 100V fitment positions Yokohama's SUV-focused GEOLANDAR line squarely in the premium BEV arena, supporting automakers' push for quieter, more efficient and more durable EV drivetrains.

Premium EV SUV fitment strengthens North American footprint

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 26, 2025 - Yokohama Rubber and Thailand's Rubber Authority (RAOT) have reached a new milestone in their long-term partnership to secure sustainable natural rubber, completing their tenth joint seminar to help smallholder farmers in Surat Thani improve rubber quality, productivity and working conditions across the supply chain.

Supporting smallholders at the heart of the rubber supply chain

The latest seminar, held in December 2025, brought together around 50 farming households from the Surat Thani region, one of Thailand's core natural rubber-producing areas and home to Yokohama Rubber's processing subsidiary Y.T. Rubber Co., Ltd. The program focused on practical measures to improve yield and quality at farm level, a critical factor for tire makers who depend on consistent, traceable natural rubber as a key raw material.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 26, 2025 - The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. is reshaping its senior leadership structure from January 1, 2026, sharpening its focus on tire production efficiency, advanced materials development, and growth in China and Asia across both tire and industrial product lines. The new appointments consolidate operational responsibility around key associates, signaling a push toward tighter coordination between manufacturing, R&D and regional business development.

Strengthening leadership around tire production and investment planning

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 26, 2025 - Yokohama Rubber is deepening its sustainability strategy and raw materials risk management by supporting an international joint research project in Indonesia aimed at preventing rubber tree leaf fall diseases, a growing threat to global natural rubber production and the tire industry's long-term resilience.

Securing Natural Rubber at the Source in Indonesia

The company is cooperating in the multi-year project "Development of Complex Technologies for Prevention and Control of Rubber Tree Leaf Fall Diseases," which targets one of the most serious plant health challenges facing natural rubber plantations in Indonesia, the world's second-largest producer.
Leaf fall disease has become widespread in key growing regions, leading to significant yield losses and jeopardizing supply for industrial users, including tire manufacturers.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 26, 2025 - Yokohama Rubber has expanded its presence in the electric vehicle supply chain as Nissan chooses the AVID GT as original equipment for the new Nissan LEAF in the United States, underlining the growing role of EV-optimized tire technology in improving range, comfort and safety for mainstream electric cars.

EV-Optimized Tires for a Core Mass-Market Electric Vehicle

Yokohama Rubber has begun supplying its AVID GT in size 215/55R18 95H as factory equipment for the latest Nissan LEAF EV launched in the U.S. market in 2025. Positioned as a key electric model for drivers transitioning from internal combustion engines to battery-electric vehicles, the new LEAF benefits from a tire package specifically engineered to support higher curb weights, instant torque and demanding efficiency targets.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 26, 2025 - Yokohama Rubber is strengthening its position in Japan's highly competitive mini-vehicle segment as it begins supplying its fuel-efficient BluEarth-FE AE30 tire as original equipment for Nissan's new Roox, launched in 2025 and equipped in selected grades with 155/65R14 75S fitments.

Fuel-efficient OE tire for Japan's next-generation kei car

The OE deal places Yokohama's BluEarth-FE AE30 at the heart of one of Japan's most important volume segments: compact, city-focused mini-vehicles. Built under the BluEarth brand concept of being "environmentally, human, and socially friendly," the BluEarth-FE AE30 is positioned as a standard tire that balances rolling resistance, safety and comfort - critical factors for OEMs seeking to meet fuel-efficiency regulations and customer expectations in urban use.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 8, 2025 - Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG) is turning its "Home of Print" into a global showcase for the next generation of printers, using the first Print Technology World Championship to promote the attractiveness of print careers and strengthen the industry's long-term skills pipeline.

World Championship Turns the "Home of Print" into a Live Skills Arena

In November, HEIDELBERG and the Swiss Printing and Media Association jointly hosted the inaugural "Print Technology World Championship" for young printing professionals at the Print Media Center at the Wiesloch-Walldorf site. The competition was explicitly aimed at emerging talent and designed to draw attention to the relevance of print as a modern, technology-driven profession.