SRNA unveils new Falken tires, expanded sizes

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Sumitomo Rubber North America Inc. (SRNA) is expanding its flagship Falken brand portfolio with more sizes and new product launches across several segments. Products to be rolled out include a "next level" ultra-high performance all-season, the final piece to the WildPeak light truck line, and an all-season drive tire for medium trucks.

Rick Brennan, SRNA vice president of marketing, said in his 56 years in the industry he's never seen as many changes as he is seeing right now. With Falken, he said the goal is to realign the product screen to capture more of the market.

Most of these new products will hit the market in the most popular sizes later this year with phased expansion of the new lines continuing through 2023, the company said.

Azenis FK460 UHP: SRNA believes the new Azenis FK460 UHP all season tire will raise Falken's profile in the UHP market.

"This is a huge leap for us in performance level of an ultra-high performance all season," Brennan said. He said it adds a level of performance above the Falken Ziex ZE960 all-season tire. The company targeted Tier 1 brands in terms of performance, and it found through internal benchmarking better dry, wet and snow stopping than those competitors.

Azenis FK460 UHP is Y rated and comes with a 50,000-mile warranty. The company will start rolling out the product throughout the rest of the year with a goal of having 61 sizes available by February 2023.

The Azenis FK460 can also be used for EVs, like Teslas. The line covers 82% of EV fitments, and Brennan said Falken will cover around 90% by midyear 2023.

WildPeak R/T: With the WildPeak R/T, SRNA completes the Falken WildPeak light truck line along with the A/T Trail, A/T 3W, M/T and H/T 02. The R/T targets LT and SUV customers looking for ultra-aggressive tread designs, especially for lifted trucks and trucks used to tow and haul.

Brennan said the new WildPeak R/T is being shipped and 18 sizes will be in stock by November. An additional 32 sizes will be added to the line late in the first quarter of 2023.

WildPeak H/T 02: Brennan said eight sizes of the heavy-duty light truck line, which includes several sizes aimed at last-mile delivery vans, will be produced at the plant in Buffalo, N.Y., by the end of the year with plans to ultimately build 30 sizes in Buffalo.

"By the end of the end of the year, you should have a full complement of H/T 02 in stock," Brennan told tire dealers at a company event in San Juan in August.

The company said two sizes — 235/65R16C and 225/75R16C — for both the H/T 02 and WildPeak A/T 03 will become available for Ford Transit and Ram ProMaster van fitments later this month. In 2023, Falken will release a WildPeak H/T 02, size 195/75R16C, for the Ford Transit 350 DRW and size 185/60R15C for Nissan's NV200.

"We believe there is strong demand for our WildPeak products from drivers who require a tough, durable all-season tire for their workhorse vehicles," Brennan said. "Falken is determined to fill that need with our reliable and proven products."

WildPeak A/T Trail: By the end of the year the all-terrain tire line will be expanded from 30 to 45 sizes. Brennan said the popular line "will continue to be expanded to fit more CUV and SUV sizes."

Winterpeak F-Ice 01: Falken has added 14 new sizes (and prepares to add another in 2023) to its Winterpeak F-Ice 01 line, the brand's studdable winter tire.

Ziex CT60: Falken will add more sizes to its Ziex CT60 all-season tire line to cover more of the larger sizes for CUV/SUVs. Brennan said the addition will offer "a better fit for many CUV and SUV customers," because it fills a gap between the CT60, originally designed for CUVs, and the Ziex ST305, which is aimed at large SUVs that need higher load capacity.

Medium truck tires: SRNA plans to introduce 14 more Falken products to its TBR portfolio in the next three years. The B1850 Plus all-season drive tire will be released in two sizes this fall. Brennan said the engineers in Buffalo "totally redesigned the 850."

SRNA will start production this year for the SI011, size 11R22.5 16/H, and roll out production of three more sizes in 2023.

All position regional tire, the RI151, will have two sizes added this year. Brennan also noted the RI151 Plus, a heavy-duty utility tire, is fully in production.