Toyo officially opens first European tire manufacturing plant

Hyogo, Japan – Toyo Tire Corp. has officially opened its greenfield passenger tire manufacturing plant in Indjija, Republic of Serbia, the Japanese group announced 14 Dec.

Toyo started production at its first European plant in July, with a key purpose to supply tires locally to the European market and step up exports to North America.

Spanning 600,000 square metres, the €390-million facility has capacity to produce five million units of passenger car tires annually and currently employs 580 people.

Toyo expects production at the 'smart factory' to ramp up to full capacity in the second half of fiscal 2023.

The Indjija site also features a proving ground with a straight track of 720 metres and a total length of 1,690 metres.

The facility, said Toyo, will help it to verify compliance with “finely-segmented laws/regulations and certification requirements in Europe," and to deliver “attractive tires to the market in a timely manner.”

The site also has been equipped with a solar power production system, which Toyo said is “one of the largest” in the country with the capacity to generate 8.4MW of electricity.