OSAKA, Japan (Dec. 29)—Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. said it will set up a sales subsidiary in Germany as of Jan. 1 to serve the entire European market.
The Neuss, Germany-based operation—Toyo Tire Europe GmbH—is a joint venture with Mitsubishi Corp., with Toyo owning 60 percent. Takeo Suzuki will be president of the firm.
Toyo said it hopes to implement unified sales and marketing strategies for the European tire market, which has been growing with the progress of the European Union. The tire maker also wants to expand sales across the continent with the new sales arm.
All business operations of the previous sales subsidiary in Germany, Dusseldorf-based Toyo Reifen GmbH, will be taken over by the new firm, Toyo said.