MUMBAI — The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced that from the second half of 2023 it will be applying a new proprietary “E+” mark to its tires for passenger cars, trucks, and buses that have special qualities needed by electrified vehicles*. The new “E+” mark is the latest facet of Yokohama Rubber’s response to the rising demand in recent years for tires most suitable for use on electrified vehicles.* “Electrified vehicles” is a generic term for battery electric vehicles (BEVs), electric vehicles (EVs), plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), and fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).
Tires installed on electrified vehicles must be able to meet the special needs of those vehicles. For example, the tires must have the strength to withstand the higher loads associated with heavy electric batteries as well as the electric motor’s high torque output. The tires also must have a quietness quality that complements the lack of noise from the vehicle’s engine. They also must contribute to the vehicle’s efficient use of electricity and other energy sources and expand the vehicle’s driving range.
Yokohama Rubber already is supplying its tires as original equipment (OE) for a number of electrified vehicles, including such premium cars as BMW iX3, Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 4MATIC+, and Lexus RZ, crossover SUVs from Toyota Motor (the bZ4X) and Subaru (the SOLTERRA), and mini-vehicles such as the Nissan Sakura and Mitsubishi Motors’ eK X EV. Yokohama Rubber also is accelerating its development of replacement market tires for electrified vehicles by applying various technologies cultivated through its development of OE tires. In addition to displaying this new “E+” mark on the sidewall of YOKOHAMA tires that incorporate these technologies to meet the special needs of electrified vehicles, the “E+” mark will be prominently displayed in tire catalogs and websites so that customers will be able to understand that a tire is suitable for use on electrified vehicles and facilitate their tire selection. The first YOKOHAMA tire to bear the “E+” mark will be the new ADVAN Sport EV, an ultra-high performance summer tire for EVs that the company plans to launch in Europe and other markets from autumn 2023.
Under Yokohama Rubber’s three-year (2021–2023) medium-term management plan, Yokohama Transformation 2023 (YX2023), the consumer tire business aims to maximize the sales ratios of high-value-added YOKOHAMA tires, namely the global flagship ADVAN brand, the GEOLANDAR brand of tires for SUVs and pickup trucks, and various winter tires. In addition to strengthening its marketing of tires to be used as OE on EVs, which require tires made using the most advanced technologies, Yokohama Rubber is utilizing the feedback received from EV makers in its development of replacement tires as it seeks to expand its product lineup and improve the performance of all its tires to meet new requirements in this era of dynamic change.
