Press Release

Hyogo, Japan - March 23, 2026 - Toyo Tire Corporation (Headquarters: Itami City, Hyogo Prefecture; President & CEO: Takashi Shimizu; hereinafter, “Toyo Tire”) hereby announces that it held a groundbreaking ceremony on March 19, 2026, for a new R&D center in Serbia, which will be established on the premises of the Toyo Tire Serbia Factory in the Municipality of Indjija, Republic of Serbia.

^{(Left: Satoru Moriya, Director of TOYO TIRE, delivering remarks / Right: President Aleksandar Vučić delivering congratulatory remarks)}

The ceremony was attended by about 100 distinguished guests, including President Aleksandar Vučić of the Republic of Serbia, other officials of the Republic of Serbia, and Mr. Atsushi Saito, Chargé d’ Affaires ad interim of Japan to Serbia, who prayed for the safe construction of the facility. The ceremony opened with an address by Satoru Moriya, Director; Corporate Officer; Vice President, R&D Headquarters, who spoke on behalf of the company as follows:

“We are excited about the potential of the Serbian R&D Center to refine cutting-edge processing technology from the ground up and to establish a European operational model that coordinates R&D, production, and sales functions, thereby boosting the competitive advantages of the PROXES brand, among others. We expect this R&D Center to serve as a core hub for the development of advanced technologies, bolstering Toyo Tire’s global competitiveness through collaboration with its counterparts in Japan and the United States.”

President Vučić delivered the following congratulatory remarks: “Today is a special day on which TOYO TIRE, a Japanese friend of Serbia, sees its production base evolve into a strategic hub. This demonstrates that Serbia possesses the human resources, infrastructure, and determination required to support advanced technological development, a fact of which I am very proud. Through investment and job creation, I look forward to building a strong future in partnership.”

With the opening of an R&D center in Germany in 2019, Toyo Tire established a global R&D framework alongside its tire technical centers in Japan and North America. To further strengthen its competitiveness in Europe, Toyo Tire has decided to consolidate its European R&D functions in Serbia, which hosts its plant and sales operations. The Serbian R&D Center is scheduled to become operational in January 2027.

As a core hub for sophisticated processing technology, the new R&D center will advance cutting-edge processing technology from the ground up through the development of new rubber compounds and materials, material/composite design, and the investigation/evaluation of raw materials. Located adjacent to the Serbia Factory, the new R&D center will leverage the proving ground on the factory premises to accelerate development seamlessly through to driving tests, increasing the efficiency of the development and verification processes and shortening time to market.

In its Mid-Term ’26 Plan announced on March 4, 2026, Toyo Tire outlined its aim of enhancing product performance, brand power, and business competitiveness through synergies achieved by consolidating the foundational functions of its European operations: production, sales, and R&D.

■Scenes from the groundbreaking ceremony

^{(From left Atsushi Saito, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of Japan to Serbia; Satoru Moriya, Director of TOYO TIRE; President Aleksandar Vučić of the Republic of Serbia)}

■Designer’s rendition of the R&D center in Serbia
 

■Outline of the new facility