Chinese PCR tyre maker Doublestar Tire recently showcased its product range for the European automotive market at Autopromotec 2025 in Bologna.

The company showcased Doublestar all-season tyres – DLA01 and DLA02, which it shared is specially designed for European customers. It uses specialised rubber compounds and tread designs to meet a wide range of temperatures and different road conditions. It also displayed the DW02 and DW08 winter tyres, which are designed to meet the specific safety requirements of winter driving in Europe, providing enhanced traction and control. It uses special rubber compound that remains flexible in low temperatures, ensuring consistent performance.

On the other hand, Doublestar’s DMS100 adopts an original tread structure design. The ultra-wide tread remains stable especially for long-distance transportation.

The company recently commissioned a factory in Cambodia, which will enable it to expand product offerings for the European market. On the other hand, the facility benefits from Cambodia's favourable trade policies, including preferential tariffs and free trade agreements with multiple European countries. 

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Japan’s Toyo Tire Corporation said it would establish a new research and development centre at its Serbian factory by January 2027, whilst shutting its German facility by the end of 2026, as part of efforts to streamline its European operations.

The new R&D laboratories, to be built on the premises of Toyo Tire’s Serbia factory in the municipality of Indjija, will span approximately 4,600 square metres and serve as the company’s European hub for tyre development and materials research.

The move marks a strategic consolidation for the Itami City-based manufacturer, which currently operates R&D centres in Japan, the United States and Germany. The Serbian facility will complete what the company describes as a “global trilateral framework” for research collaboration across three continents.

Toyo Tire President and Chief Executive Takashi Shimizu said the company would focus on developing “new rubber compounds and materials, as well as advancing mixing technology” at the Serbian centre to enhance both productivity and tyre performance.

The facility will concentrate on processing technology, which the company has identified as crucial for meeting increasingly complex and contradictory performance requirements in modern tyre manufacturing. These include lower rolling resistance, higher wet and snow performance, reduced weight, and improved wear resistance.

The Serbian site offers a particular advantage with its on-site proving ground, enabling immediate vehicle testing that is expected to shorten development cycles, the company said.

Toyo Tire, which opened its North American R&D centre in January 2019 and the German facility in November that year, has identified three areas of differentiation: advanced design, customer-oriented product development, and next-generation technology aligned with future societal needs.

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Celebrating a significant 25-year legacy, Apollo Tyres has launched the Swasth Saarthi app and unveiled a pivotal white paper titled ‘Truckers – the Backbone of Our Supply Chain’. These initiatives mark the latest evolution in the company's enduring healthcare programme, which was established in 2000 to serve the trucking community. The milestone event was attended by senior Apollo Tyres leadership, including Rajeev Kumar Sinha, Chief Manufacturing Officer, and Rajesh Dahiya, Vice President, Commercial (India, SAARC, Southeast Asia) of Apollo Tyres Ltd, alongside Kultaran Singh Atwal, Former President, All India Motor Transport Congress.

The newly released white paper provides a profound look into the lives of truck drivers, detailing their unique challenges and the risks inherent in their profession. It identifies a critical demand for mobile healthcare, with 74 percent of drivers surveyed expecting access to medical support while on the road. This need is matched by an opportunity, as the same percentage of drivers use smartphones, creating a perfect avenue for digital health interventions.

The Swasth Saarthi app is Apollo Tyres' direct response to this demand. Designed for a life in transit, the application provides truck drivers with immediate medical support through features like video consultations with doctors and a tool to locate the nearest Apollo Tyres Healthcare Centre. The company projects that the app will serve around 10,000 drivers in its initial phase, extending healthcare beyond its physical network.

Rajeev Kumar Sinha emphasised the company's ‘One Family’ values, highlighting a commitment to tailored care that has grown from the pioneering Healthy Highway Project into a comprehensive health ecosystem. What began with a focus on HIV awareness has expanded over a quarter-century to include mobile medical units, vision care and management of tuberculosis and other diseases. To date, the Apollo Tyres Foundation has reached over 11 million beneficiaries through more than 1,000 health camps and 34 healthcare centres across 21 states, solidifying its role as a vital partner to the nation's supply chain workforce.

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Pirelli has secured its position as the exclusive tyre supplier for the DTM following a transparent and competitive tender process. This renewed partnership, effective from the 2026 season, signifies a substantial deepening of the Italian firm's involvement. Beyond simply providing tyres, Pirelli will leverage its extensive motorsport expertise to design and develop a bespoke tyre line specifically for the DTM. These new tyres will be engineered with innovative processes and materials to match the series' demanding race format and increasing competitiveness, and they will incorporate the latest RFID tracking technology.

A notable shift is that, from the next season, DTM tyres will be developed and manufactured at Pirelli's state-of-the-art technology centre in Breuberg, Hesse, marking a ‘Made in Germany’ production. This facility is recognised as one of the most advanced within Pirelli's global network of 18 plants and features a cutting-edge research and development department. The enhanced collaboration also extends to marketing, with Pirelli planning to integrate the DTM more prominently into its international sales initiatives and digital channels, promising to significantly boost the series' global visibility.

In a related development, Pirelli has also extended its partnership with the ADAC GT Masters. However, the product lines for this series will follow a separate development path, maintaining continuity with the global GT platform. The ADAC GT Masters will continue using the P Zero DHG tyre generation introduced for the 2025 season, a partnership that has been in place since 2015.

Thomas Voss, ADAC Motorsport Director, said, "The DTM is the GT and touring car series with the highest performance density worldwide and places special demands on tyres. We are responding to this with Pirelli's tailor-made tyres. The new tyre for the DTM also ensures fair competition and is an effective means of enforcing testing restrictions in the series. The introduction of the exclusive tyre is an important step for the development of the DTM. We are delighted to be taking this step together with Pirelli.”

Mario Isola, Director of Pirelli Motorsport, said, “The ADAC’s decision underscores the high quality of our tyres and the excellent work of our team. The DTM can continue to rely on top tyre performance and dependable support at the track. The tyre production in Germany is certainly a big asset for the series. Pirelli and the DTM will continue on their shared path, confirming the success of the partnership that began in 2023. This is a source of great pride for us and, at the same time, a responsibility. We will continue to provide our utmost support to one of the world's most prestigious and professional championships with bespoke technological solutions. This partnership represents a significant commitment, but also a valuable opportunity for further growth for our team."

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Toyo Tires has launched a new winter edition of its corporate film series, reinforcing the brand’s global perspective and core messaging. This cinematic piece visually embodies the company’s ‘Blaze BLUE’ campaign, a key brand message introduced earlier this year that symbolises the passion and determined spirit of drivers who push into new frontiers.

Set in the expansive winter landscapes of the United States, a key market for the company, the film features a Lexus GX 550 outfitted with the company’s Observe GSi-6 non-stud winter tyres for SUVs. The vehicle’s powerful journey across vast, snowy terrain is captured with a striking visual contrast, utilising the company’s signature blue colour against the white environment. This dynamic imagery is designed to reflect the pioneering essence of the brand and to resonate with its ‘Open Roads Await’ brand statement.

The new film’s soundtrack incorporates a newly arranged version of a 1973 song by The Doobie Brothers, reimagined to sonically complement the sight of a vehicle traversing the American wilderness and to echo the ‘Blaze BLUE’ theme. This winter edition is being distributed through the dedicated Blaze BLUE page on the Toyo Tires corporate website and its official social media channels. In tandem with the film's release, the related key visual and web page have been updated with a winter aesthetic. Through these initiatives, Toyo Tires continues its commitment to supporting driven individuals and creating innovative tyre technology for every challenge.

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