Yokohama Rubber Co.’s off-highway tyre (OHT) business is positioning as the manufacturing and export backbone of its global operations, with the Japanese tyre maker targeting nearly $1 billion in cumulative investments in the country even as exports from its India operations approach the same milestone amid shifting global supply chains.
Speaking to , Anil Gupta, Chief Operating Officer, Yokohama Off-Highway Tires, said the company’s off-highway tyre business currently exports roughly $800–900 million worth of annually from India, with exports expected to cross the $1-billion mark over the next phase of expansion.
Industry sources said Yokohama’s India operations are moving towards a rare “double billion-dollar” scale, with cumulative investments and exports inching towards the $1-billion mark over the next phase of growth.
“We are the largest exporter of tyres from India to the US across any segment,” Gupta said. “For Alliance Tire Group (Y-ATG), 100 per cent of our production comes from India. We produce solely in India and supply to the world.”
The US and Europe together account for more than 70 per cent of Y-ATG’s revenues, underlining India’s growing importance in supplying Western markets.
Unlike most global tyre manufacturers that operate distributed manufacturing networks, Yokohama’s Y-ATG business manufactures almost entirely from India while supplying customers across the US, Europe and other international markets. That makes India central to Yokohama’s global supply-chain strategy, functioning simultaneously as an export base, sourcing hub, China+1 hedge and low-cost production platform for its specialty tyre operations.
BUILDING A GLOBAL TYRE PLATFORM
The India push comes as Yokohama consolidates its global off-highway tyre business through acquisitions and capacity expansion.
Over the last decade, Yokohama has assembled a roughly $3-billion global off-highway tyre platform through three major verticals,
Alliance Tire Group (Y-ATG), Trelleborg Wheel Systems (Y-TWS), and Goodyear Off-the-Road tyres (G-OTR), creating one of the world’s largest specialty tyre businesses.
The company has invested nearly $4 billion globally into the segment through acquisitions, helping it emerge as the world’s largest player in agricultural off-highway tyres.
“Today, we are number one globally in agriculture tyres,” Gupta said.
India now anchors Yokohama’s global off-highway tyre supply chain and serves as the operational backbone of this platform
INDIA-MADE TYRES POWER GLOBAL OPERATIONS
Yokohama’s India manufacturing footprint spans facilities in Dahej (Gujarat), Vizag (Andhra Pradesh) and Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu), supplying customers across agricultural, industrial, construction and mining tyre segments.
The Dahej facility currently has production capacity of around 140,000 tonnes, while Yokohama has invested nearly ₹2,850 crore in its Vizag facility over the last several years.
Agriculture remains the company’s largest off-highway business globally, while industrial and forklift tyres, construction tyres and mining tyres form the other major verticals.
The acquisition of Goodyear’s off-the-road tyre business strengthened Yokohama’s capabilities in mining and haulage tyres, deepening its exposure to infrastructure and mining demand cycles.
Gupta said Yokohama’s cumulative India investments across off-highway and passenger vehicle tyre operations are approaching the billion-dollar mark.
The company is also building a new off-highway tyre plant in Odisha, with commercial production expected during FY28. The expansion is tied to India’s expanding mining and infrastructure cycle and rising demand for specialised off-the-road tyres used in haulage and mining applications.
CHINA+1 SHIFT BOOSTS INDIA
Yokohama executives believe global manufacturing economics are increasingly shifting in favour of India as tyre makers reassess supply chains following geopolitical disruptions and rising energy costs in Europe.
Gupta said the Russia-Ukraine conflict sharply increased electricity and manufacturing costs across Europe, accelerating the movement of tyre production towards lower-cost countries.
“My thought is that tyres are going to be made out of low-cost countries in the future,” he said. Industry executives said the trend is also being driven by China+1 sourcing strategies as global customers seek alternatives to concentrated supply chains.
“China already has huge capacity,” Gupta said. “So it is indeed important for India to build up the manufacturing base stronger.”
Yokohama believes India is increasingly emerging as a preferred non-China manufacturing base for specialty tyres, particularly in the US and Europe where Indian products already enjoy strong market acceptance. Despite elevated raw material costs and tariff uncertainty, Gupta said global demand remains resilient.
“We gained a lot of credibility with customers because we continued supplying during difficult times,” he said.
PREMIUM FARM TYRES DRIVE INDIA PUSH
While exports remain the backbone of Yokohama’s off-highway tyre business, the company is now preparing a sharper domestic push after years of being capacity constrained.
“We were constantly short of tyre capacity to meet demand,” Gupta said. “Now, with our factories in Vizag and Dahej, we have the opportunity to grow in India.”
The company plans to introduce more premium radial agricultural tyres into India, arguing that much of the domestic market is still dominated by older bias-tyre technologies.
Its flagship AGRI STAR II range has already sold more than one million tyres globally over the last five years. Gupta said advanced radial tyres can improve soil preservation and farm productivity by reducing soil compaction.
Alongside India, Yokohama is also expanding manufacturing capacity in Romania and Mexico as part of a geographically diversified production network designed to reduce tariff and supply-chain risks.
With exports nearing the billion-dollar mark and global customers increasingly looking beyond China, Yokohama is positioning India not just as a manufacturing base, but as the long-term centre of its global off-highway tyre strategy.