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The passenger car tire segment is the most critical segment for tire manufacturers in Japan. In terms of sales, it covers more than 70% of the total tire sales for this market. Both, OEM and the replacement tire segment of the market in Japan have grown steadily to boost vendor profit margins over the past few years.
Japan is home to some of the largest global tire manufacturers such as Bridgestone, Sumitomo, and Yohohama. Large manufacturers in Japan are keen to leverage the opportunity that has emerged with the growing mini passenger car segment. Vendors are looking to launch many new variants of tires with shorter wheelbase diameters sensing this opportunity. The market is also witnessing a growing demand for tires from electric vehicles, thus prompting manufacturers to invest in this segment as well. Overall, the continuing demand for tire replacements is expected to help the passenger car tire market grow at a CAGR of over 4% during the forecast period.
Natural rubber is one of the most important raw materials for the tire industry, and it accounts for roughly 14% of the total weight of a tire. The increase in the price of natural rubber directly impacts tire manufacturing costs. Major rubber manufacturing regions in South Asia and South East Asia are highly susceptible to seasonal damages and extreme weather conditions. In such situations, supply becomes unpredictable, thus leading to a consequent price hike of natural rubber.
An alternative to natural rubber has emerged in the form of guayule. Its cultivation requires arid climates, and the southwest Arizona region in the US suits the crop particularly well. Bridgestone and Cooper tires are putting their resources together in a joint R&D initiative to commercialize the production of guayule. Another prominent vendor, Continental has also been investing in R&D activities of dandelion rubber since 2007. The company is working on a particular species of Russian dandelion as they offer superior yields as compared to others. The focus is on innovation to bring down the cost of manufacturing by investing in alternative sources of biopolymers.
The replacement market accounts for 54-57% of the total passenger car tire sales in Japan. Tires are either purchased online, from a retailer or a dealer. As the competition is stiff, vendors look to cut down prices by offering discounts. This trend is more evident in online channels that look to leverage consumers with price comparison of products.
Amid speculations regarding an increase in the consumption tax in Japan, the OEM market witnessed some heavy buying from consumers in 2014. Despite economic challenges and a high level of debt and inflation, this segment remains optimistic due to a rise in demand for eco-friendly and mini cars.
The three main segment of the automobile market in Japan include: -
Mini cars have steadily gained popularity in urban and densely populated regions of Japan. These vehicles have smaller displacement and usually with vehicle dimensions of up to 4.7 meters in length, 1.7 meters in width, and under 2 meters in height. Known as Keis in Japan, mini cars accounted for over 30% of the market share in the year 2010. Continuous growth has helped the segment reach 39% by 2014.
Summer tires constitute the dominant segment of the passenger car tire market in Japan. The market has also witnessed a rise in the demand for winter tires due to heavy snowfall in the year 2013 and 2014. Road safety regulations in Japan mandates replacement of winter tires in the eventuality of thread grooves getting worn out below 4 mm.
The market shares of summer tires and winter tires are calculated on the basis of replacement tire sales in Japan.
Bridgestone is one of the leading vendors in the passenger car tire market in Japan. The company has a wide geographical presence that helps it to maintain its position in the market. It has a broad portfolio of tires for multiple vehicles types. Michelin also exhibits strong presence across several segments such as airlines, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy trucks, and motor cycles.
Toyo Tires and Yokohama are home grown, Japanese origin companies that are hugely popular among consumers in Japan. They specialize in wide ranging product categories such as luxury vehicles, light trucks, and SUVs as well as commercial trucks.
Other prominent manufacturers in the market include Hanook tires, Kumho Tires, Nakang Rubber, and Nitto Tires.
01. Executive Summary
02. List of Abbreviations
03. Scope of the Report
03.1 Market Overview
03.2 Product Offerings
04. Market Research Methodology
04.1 Market Research Process
04.2 Research Methodology
05. Introduction
05.1 Tires Market Overview
05.2 Tire Classification by Application
05.3 Tire Classification by Construction Type
05.4 Tires: Key Markets
05.5 Tires Classification by Weather Condition
05.6 Key Tire Manufacturers Segmentation by Geography
06. Tire Manufacturing Process
06.1 Life Cycle of Tires
07. Break Up of Raw Material Cost
08. Tire Industry Supply Chain
09. Tire Labelling System in Japan
10. Tire Recycling System in Japan
11. Japan: Automotive Industry Overview
12. Market Landscape
12.1 Market overview
12.2 Market Size and Forecast
13. Passenger Car Tires: OEM and Replacement Tire Market
13.1 OEM Passenger Car Tires market in Japan
13.2 Replacement Passenger Car Tires market in Japan
14. Market Segmentation by Application
15. Market Segmentation by Tire Type
16. Market Growth Drivers
17. Drivers and their Impact
18. Market Challenges
19. Impact of Drivers and Challenges
20. Market Trends
21. Trends and their Impact
22. Vendor Landscape
22.1 Competitive scenario
22.2 Other prominent vendors
23. Key Vendor Analysis
23.1 Bridgestone
23.1.1 Key Facts
23.1.2 Business Overview
23.1.3 Business Segmentation by Revenue 2014
23.1.4 Geographical Segmentation 2014
23.1.5 Business Strategy
23.1.6 Recent Developments
23.1.7 SWOT Analysis
23.2 Japan Michelin Tire
23.2.1 Key Facts
23.2.2 Business Overview
23.2.3 SWOT Analysis
23.3 Sumitomo Rubber Industries
23.3.1 Key Facts
23.3.2 Business Overview
23.3.3 Business Segmentation by Revenue 2013
23.3.4 Geographical Segmentation by Revenue 2013
23.3.5 Business Strategy
23.3.6 Recent Developments
23.3.7 SWOT Analysis
23.4 Yokohama Rubber
23.4.1 Key Facts
23.4.2 Business Overview
23.4.3 Business segmentation by revenue 2014
23.4.4 Business segmentation by revenue 2013 and 2014
23.4.5 Geographical segmentation by revenue 2014
23.4.6 Business strategy
23.4.7 Recent developments
23.4.8 SWOT Analysis
23.5 Toyo Tire & Rubber
23.5.1 Key Facts
23.5.2 Business Overview
23.5.3 Business Segmentation by Revenue 2014
23.5.4 Geographical Segmentation by Revenue 2014
23.5.5 Business Strategy
23.5.6 Recent Developments
23.5.7 SWOT Analysis
24. Other Reports in this Series
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