Continue innovating next-generation mobility technology

Challenges

Relevant stakeholders

• Direct:Customers (consumers), suppliers, employees, research bodies
• Indirect:Shareholders and investors, creditors, local communities, NGOs, industry groups

Our policy

The Toyo Tire Group believes that the value we provide through our products and services must support the evolution of mobility required for a new age. We will continue to challenge technological innovation to help build a society that exists in harmony with the environment and supports safe driving.

Our goal

Our goal is to increase the ratio of sustainable materials^*1 to 40% by 2030 and 100% by 2050.

• *1 We defines sustainable materials as recycled raw materials and bio-based raw materials.

Responsible executive (as of April 2026)

Director, Senior Corporate Officer and Vice President of R&D Headquarters

Organizational responsibilities (as of April 2026)

R&D Headquarters is responsible for promoting initiatives in this area. The Technical Committee oversees all initiatives and reports progress to the Sustainability Committee.

Reporting systems

• Reporting hotline (whistle-blowing system): For executives, employees and suppliers
• Customer Relations Department: For customers (consumers) and local communities
• Online inquiry form: For customers (consumers), shareholders and investors, and NGOs

Discovery Channel × TOYO TIRES Technology

• R&D / TECHNOLOGY
• Discovery Channel × TOYO TIRES Technology

Developing products and materials, and enhancing technologies, for next-generation mobility society

THiiiNK: A new technological framework for delivering appealing products to a broad customer base
Among the various technologies that we have cultivated over many years, we identified materials technology, simulation technology, and design technology as the three core technologies that underpin our next-generation tire manufacturing vision.
The new THiiiNK technological framework integrates these three core areas, and all future products will be developed under this framework.

Nano Balance Technology: Materials technology for next-generation lifestyles
We use our proprietary Nano Balance Technology platform to enable nanoscale materials design when developing rubber materials. The technology helps design ideal materials by integrating research, simulation, materials design, and processing procedures, as well as by observing, predicting, building functionality, and precisely controlling rubber materials at the nano (molecular) level.

T-MODE: Simulation technology for the high-level performance our customers demand
In 1987, Toyo Tire Corporation became the first Japanese tire manufacturer to introduce supercomputers, which have been repeatedly updated ever since. This illustrates our commitment to positioning simulation technology as the core design support technology for tire development and promoting its active use. In 2000, we announced our T-mode design technology that combines our driving simulation and tire simulation. In 2019, we evolved this into the new T-MODE by integrating AI technology into our traditional computer aided engineering (CAE)^*2-based design platform, dramatically improving design accuracy and speed.

• *2 Technology that facilitates the creation of virtual models on computers during the product design and development phases to simulate and analyze physical phenomena

Pattern Design Technology: Design technology for the perfect balance between functionality and design
We have established a solid presence in the North American market by developing, manufacturing, and selling tires that offer both high-level functionality and aggressive tread designs. For example, our flagship OPEN COUNTRY series for SUVs enjoys a strong reputation in the North American market, and has been well received in Japan since being introduced there in 2016. This design technology is a key source of our competitiveness and significantly enhances our brand value.

Expanding the use of sustainable raw materials

We believe it is our mission as a manufacturing company to help promote the transition from a society that consumes resources to a society that circulates resources. We conduct research and development with the aim of increasing the ratio^*3of sustainable raw materials^*2used in our products to 40% by 2030, and 100% by 2050. That ratio reached 30% at the end of 2025.
Going forward, we will continue developing technologies to increase the use of recycled raw materials such as reclaimed rubber made from used tires, recovered carbon black (rCB) and recycled bead wire, as well as biomass-derived synthetic rubber (products with ISCC PLUS certification^*4), rice husk ash silica, and other biomass-derived raw materials.
This would lead to a reduction in the amount of petroleum-derived raw materials used, which have a large impact on climate change, and help reduce GHG emissions over the tire lifecycle.
Furthermore, in December 2024, we acquired ISCC PLUS certification, one of the international certification systems for sustainable products. As a result, we are now able to handle certified raw materials using the mass balance method^*5 at the two certified factories. Going forward, we will systematically increase the use of sustainable raw materials, including certified products, and the number of bases with ISCC PLUS certification.

• *3 The ratio is based on the weight of sustainable raw materials used in products at the end of each year
• *4 A third-party certification system that ensures the proper management of biomass-derived raw materials and products and recycled raw materials and products within the supply chain
• *5 An accounting method used when products contain a mixture of raw materials with different characteristics. It enables a certain percentage of any manufactured product to be assigned a certain characteristic (e.g. certification as recycled) according to the input volume of raw materials with that characteristic.

Ratio of sustainable raw materials: targets and actual results

【TOPICS】

1. Developing concept tires made from 96.5% sustainable raw materials

We are promoting initiatives designed to achieve even higher environmental and product performance by determinedly exploring technologies that facilitate the substitution of materials that are essential for maintaining tire performance but are difficult to replace with sustainable alternatives.
Recently, we have developed a concept tire with an even higher 96.5% ratio of sustainable materials used. That represents a 6.5 point increase on the 90% ratio for the concept tire series announced in January 2024.
The sustainable materials used in tires can be broadly divided two types: (1) biomass-derived raw materials made from naturally derived and other renewable sources and (2) recycled materials made from used resources. This latest concept tire boasts a 61.5% ratio of biomass-derived raw materials, a category that includes biomass-derived butadiene rubber, biomass-derived styrene butadiene rubber, biomass-derived polyester fiber, rice husk ash silica, and plant-based oils.
The 35% recycled materials component includes the CO2-derived butadiene rubber that was successfully synthesized together with the University of Toyama, recovered carbon black, recycled bead wire, and recycled steel cord.
Going forward, we will pursue further technological innovation and research to develop a commercially viable tire.

Concept tires made from 96.5% sustainable raw materials

2. Launching the Serbia R&D Center in 2027

Looking ahead, and in line with the Medium-Term ’26 Plan, we intend not only to build a solid competitive edge through high-performance designs, but also to strengthen our ability to create products with a keen focus on customer value. With the aim of accelerating the advancement of our technologies and their social implementation to create value, we will work to elevate our technological development to an even higher stage. Strengthening processing technologies is key to this effort, which is why we have positioned that as a priority theme in our European R&D function and why we have established a new R&D building on our production site in Indija, Serbia. The new Serbia R&D Center is scheduled to open in January 2027.
To consolidate and elevate our research and development framework in Europe, we plan to transfer the R&D function currently located in Germany to the Serbia center by the end of 2026. This will enable us to further strengthen global R&D collaboration, driving the creation of next-generation technologies and their swift implementation in society based on a three-pronged R&D framework in Japan, North America, and Europe.
We will further enhance product performance and productivity by developing new formulations and materials and enhancing compounding technology at the newly built Serbia R&D Center. We will use the test course on the factory premises to conduct immediate on-vehicle testing, shortening the development cycle and accelerating the development of new products.

Serbia R&D Center

3. Developing the Tire SAPRI digital application for managing the condition of truck and bus tires

We have developed the Tire SAPRI digital application that helps fully understand and manage truck and bus tire usage environments and status, and have already started test marketing the app to select customers.
We are seeking to use our unique digital data processing technologies, such as displays of predicted tire wear as well as abnormality notifications based on tire pressure and temperature monitoring, to create new value through solutions that can, for example, ensure efficient management of vehicle operations and prevent operational problems for logistics companies.

Reducing TRWP and the use of 6PPD^*6

Tire and road wear particles (TRWP) are dust produced by friction between the tire and the road surface that is a mixture of tire tread and road paving materials. Since the dust is discharged into the atmosphere, tire manufacturers view the need to reduce TRWP as a key issue. Any wear on tires does impact safety, comfort and fuel efficiency, so we are always striving to improve wear resistance through materials development and improved tread design.
We also actively participate in industry groups, the Tire Industry Project (TIP)^*7and JATMA^*8, to conduct research and study ways to mitigate the impact of TRWP since there are still many things about TRWP that have yet to be determined. We will continue to contribute to the industry’s efforts in this area, while also using any knowledge we acquire though these industry-wide activities to improve our own initiatives on reducing TRWP.
Furthermore, TRWP includes 6PPD^*6, an anti-degradant that is widely used in the global tire industry. A paper published in the United States indicates that 6PPD-quinone, a transformation product that can form when 6PPD reacts with oxygen or ozone, impacts certain types of fish. As a member of the tire industry, we are also conducting various research and assessing alternative products.

• *6 N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N’-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine. An anti-degradant additive used to prevent the tire surface from cracking and degrading
• *7 One of the sector projects of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
• *8 The Japan Automobile Tyre Manufacturers Association, Inc.

Supporting safe driving (Providing data to enhance driver safety)

We are pioneering the concept of using tires as information-acquiring devices by developing sensing technology that can collect various types of information from tires — the only vehicle component that comes into direct contact with the road surface. Through this development, we aim to contribute to safety and security systems required for autonomous driving and other purposes.

Taking road surface measurements using mounted sensors

Intellectual property strategy

We pursue technological innovation and product development designed to reduce environmental impact and support an era of safe mobility.
We believe that any new technologies or products created through these efforts can only demonstrate their social value once they are actually used. Our products bring together the results of research and development in areas such as the use of recycled and biomass-derived raw materials, as well as rubber compounds and tread and structural designs that help improve fuel efficiency. So that customers can use our products with confidence, we are proactively acquiring intellectual property rights to underpin these technologies. In parallel, we are also working to visualize the value of these intellectual property rights. We believe that these ongoing intellectual property activities will help create value for the future era of mobility while securing our own presence in that arena.