NOKIA, Finland—One might say Nokian Tyres P.L.C. surpassed its goal of bolstering its product portfolio.
The Nokia-based tire maker, struggling with capacity issues in the wake of the 2023 sale of its plant in Russia, has returned to the ultra-high performance (UHP), all-season category with the launch of the Nokian Tyres Surpass AS01, designed for the North American market.
The tire, available in 65 sizes to fit rim diameters covering 16 to 21 inches, can be ordered as of Jan. 22. It is suitable for electric vehicles, the company said, and it is being manufactured in Finland, at least for the short-term.
Nokian is coming off a challenging year: its worldwide capacity was severely crippled when the company elected to sell the Russian factory and its capacity of 20 million tires per year to Russian energy and petrochemicals producer P.J.S.C. Tatneft for $307 million.
Nokian is in the process of replacing the loss of half of that capacity—the other half of all tires made in Russia were sold there—as well as replacing the molds it surrendered in the sale. The tire maker recently inaugurated production at a passenger tire plant in Oradea, Romania, that eventually will provide 6 million tires per year and is ramping up production at its plant in Dayton, Tenn.
Leo Hillman, development manager for Nokian Tyres, told Tire Business that the predecessor of the Surpass AS01, the zLine AS, was made in Russia and discontinued, thus providing a significant gap in the tire maker's portfolio.
Until now.
"It was a very, very unfortunate situation that gave us the possibility to focus on developing the new, next generation of the UHP tire," Hillman. said. "... And we are very proud to be able to launch this new product in the North American market."
The most exciting part of the new product, Hillman said, revolves around its unique pattern, compound and durability.