Continue innovating next-generation mobility technology

• Challenges
• Our policy
• Responsible Executive (as of April 2022)
• Activity promotion system (as of April 2022)
• Grievance mechanism
• Creating recycling technologies for products and raw materials
• Supporting safe driving (improving safety awareness through data)
• Enforcing intellectual property strategy

Challenges

• Developing products, materials and technology for a society of next-generation mobility
• Creating recycling technologies for products and raw materials
• Innovating low-impact alternatives to substances of concern (eliminating microplastics, etc.)
• Supporting safe driving (improving safety awareness through data)
• Enforcing intellectual property strategy

Stakeholders with high involvement

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

Our policy

The value we provide through our products and services must support the evolution of mobility required for a new age. To achieve this, we are continuously innovating new technologies that help foster a society that is environmentally sustainable and supports safe driving.

Responsible Executive (as of April 2022)

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

Activity promotion system (as of April 2022)

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

Grievance mechanism

• 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

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

Activities: Creating recycling technologies for products and raw materials

As part of our social responsibility as a global manufacturer, we see it as our duty to contribute to the transition from a linear to circular economy. The Toyo Tire Group are therefore working to increase the use of sustainable materials (defined as recycled and naturally-derived raw materials).
As an example, by 2025 we plan to sequentially introduce into the market materials that have high wearability, and recycled raw materials such as recycled rubber from used tires or recycled carbon black. We are also using open innovation to actively promote technological development that minimizes use of petroleum-derived raw materials, which have a major impact on climate change, and increases use of low-impact biopolymers and other naturally-derived raw materials.

Activities: Supporting safe driving (improving safety awareness through data)

In the development of wear prediction technology for trucks and buses, we have continued from last year in conducting and collecting data from demonstration tests, and are working to improve the accuracy of our AI models at predicting tire lifespan. We have also made a remote tire management app available to customers, and are now considering its practical application.
In the development of tire sensing, we have obtained measurements from model vehicles on a test course and public roads, and constructed a model to estimate “tire force^*1” under actual driving conditions. With a view towards eventual implementation, we have developed an app that can visualize real-time tire force and display it to the driver.

 * Tire force is a term assigned by Toyo Tire that refers to actual tire performance as estimated from information input from the tire, such as air pressure, temperature, road surface distinction, load, wear and any detected anomalies.
We have developed an app that displays tire force in real time in a way that is visible to the driver.

Activities: Enforcing intellectual property strategy

We are continuously developing technological innovations and products that help work towards a society that is environmentally sustainable and supports safe driving. It is only when these new technologies and products are delivered to our customers and are finally used that they first transform into social value. So that customers can use our technologies and products with peace of mind, they must be securely protected through intellectual property rights, and we systematically apply for and manage such rights for our sustainability-related intellectual property. We also believe that these continual efforts will help us secure a presence in a society of nextgeneration mobility.