YRC to add Alliance passenger tire brand

TOKYO — Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. is planning to launch a line of Alliance-branded passenger tires in Europe this year as a "competitively priced" companion to the flagship Yokohama brand, the company disclosed recently.

Yokohama will target markets in France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom initially, the company said.

The Japanese tire maker said the Alliance passenger tire line will be priced 20 to 30 percent below the Yokohama brand and as such is intended to compete with other major tire makers' associate brands, such as Bridgestone Corp.'s Firestone brand or Continental A.G.'s Barum brand.

Yokohama estimates low-cost tire brands account for 30 to 40 percent of European consumer tire demand, with products from low-cost countries like China gaining share.

Yokohama acquired Alliance Tire Group, the Indian-Israeli producer of tires predominantly for agricultural equipment, in 2016.

YRC will produce the Alliance-brand tires in Japan.

Yokohama Rubber ranked No. 8 globally with a 2.6-percent market share in 2015, according to Tire Business' annual Global Tire Report calculations.

Europe accounted for only about 7 percent of the company's total tire sales last year, vs. 44 for Japan and 17 percent for North America, Yokohama reported.