Press Release

Hyogo, Japan – September 17, 2026 – Toyo Tire Corporation (Headquarters: Itami City, Hyogo Prefecture; President & CEO: Takashi Shimizu; hereinafter, "Toyo Tire") hereby announces that it will support Toyota Motor Europe (TME) as it takes on the Dakar Future Mission 1000 category of the 2027 Dakar Rally, to be held in Saudi Arabia in January 2027, by providing OPEN COUNTRY M/T-R, Toyo Tire's pick-up truck and SUV tires, for TME's fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), the DKR GR FC Hilux.

_{(DKR GR FC Hilux)}

First contested in 1978, the Dakar Rally is known as one of the world's toughest annual off-road endurance races. In challenging environments that range from freezing mountains to scorching desert dunes, where weather and road conditions change constantly, drivers cover trackless terrain with precise driving and accurate line selection.

Dakar Future Mission 1000 is an experimental category of the Dakar Rally designed to test the performance and durability of next-generation mobility technologies, such as hydrogen- and electricity-powered vehicles, under real Dakar conditions. It follows its own competition format, with the 2027 event consisting of approximately 10 stages, comprising a total of 1,000 km of timed competitive sections.

Based on the DKR GR Hilux, which has already proven itself in Dakar's top category, the DKR GR FC Hilux will feature Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell system to demonstrate the performance, safety, and reliability of fuel cell technology in the Dakar Future Mission 1000 category. This entry is part of Toyota's ongoing efforts to achieve carbon neutrality in motorsport and to expand the potential of its hydrogen-related technologies.

The OPEN COUNTRY M/T-R, which Toyo Tire will proudly provide, not only offers enhanced durability and wear resistance in pursuit of outstanding performance on rough terrain, but also uses sustainable materials to reduce environmental impact. In the harsh environment of the Dakar Rally, Toyo Tire will support the DKR GR FC Hilux from the ground up, helping to verify the further potential of fuel cell technology.
 

Toyo Tire applies the knowledge gained from supporting vehicles in off-road races to developing higher-performance tires for pick-up trucks and SUVs. Going forward, Toyo Tire will continue to hone its sustainable tire development technologies through its motorsport activities and, drawing on the knowledge gained in competition, to deliver higher-performance, higher-quality, and more attractive products around the world.

Reference

■ OPEN COUNTRY M/T-R
This product was specially tuned for use in the top categories of the world's leading rally-raid competitions, including the Dakar Rally. Leveraging the knowledge gained through supporting vehicles at previous events, the OPEN COUNTRY M/T-R offers enhanced driving performance on rough terrain and greater resistance to external damage when vehicles race at high speed through harsh environments where road surface conditions vary constantly, from hard rock and soft sand to slippery mud.
This product uses eco-friendly, sustainable materials^*.

^{*Sustainable materials are defined as recycled raw materials and renewable materials, which include recycled bead wire and recycled carbon black. They account for 23.8% of this product's total weight.}