On 17 June, Yokohama Rubber announced that it had signed an academic agreement with Suzhou University of Science and Technology and expected to start production of its first self-repairing tires at its Suzhou factory within this year.

Yokohama Rubber stated that the project utilised ‘advanced safety technology that can effectively reduce the risk of tire blowouts caused by punctures.’ The equipment is scheduled to be introduced to the Suzhou factory by September 2025, with production expected to start within this year.

Yokohama Rubber's press release stated that the initial output value is expected to exceed RMB 10 million, and the new product will become a new high-value growth driver for the company.

In addition, Yokohama Rubber announced that it has signed a cooperation agreement with Suzhou University, focusing on two core areas: technological breakthroughs and talent cultivation.

Fan Ming, Chairman and President of Yokohama Rubber (China), pointed out that this move aims to build a ‘deeply integrated industry-academia-research innovation ecosystem.’ He said that the two sides ‘will jointly establish laboratories to break through technical bottlenecks in tire research and development,’ including researching challenges such as tyre safety and durability, and will efficiently convert the results into practical applications.

At the same time, the two sides will explore new models for joint talent cultivation by creating internship and practical training bases.