Japanese tire manufacturer Toyo Tires held a ground-breaking ceremony on March 19, 2026, for an R&D center in Serbia, which will be established on the premises of the Toyo Tires Serbia Factory in the municipality of Indjija.
The R&D center will focus on developing processing technologies, including rubber compounds, materials and composite design, as well as evaluating raw materials. It will use the on-site proving ground next to the Serbia factory to support development through vehicle testing, improving efficiency and reducing time-to-market.
Satoru Moriya, director, corporate officer, and vice president at the R&D headquarters, said, “We are excited about the potential of the Serbian R&D Center to refine cutting-edge processing technology from the ground up and to establish a European operational model that coordinates R&D, production and sales functions, thereby boosting the competitive advantages of the Proxes brand, among others. We expect this R&D Center to serve as a core hub for the development of advanced technologies, bolstering Toyo Tires’ global competitiveness through collaboration with its counterparts in Japan and the United States.”
President Vučić of the Republic of Serbia, added, “Today is a special day on which Toyo Tires, a Japanese friend of Serbia, sees its production base evolve into a strategic hub. This demonstrates that Serbia possesses the human resources, infrastructure and determination required to support advanced technological development, a fact of which I am very proud. Through investment and job creation, I look forward to building a strong future in partnership.”
With the opening of an R&D center in Germany in 2019, Toyo Tires established a global R&D framework alongside its tire technical centers in Japan and North America. To strengthen its competitiveness in Europe, the company has decided to consolidate its European R&D functions in Serbia, where its plant and sales operations are situated. The Serbian R&D Center is scheduled to become operational in January 2027.
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