Smart mobility is as relevant as ever, with growing urbanisation rates in almost all countries across the globe. But the concept isn’t new. At least I recall reading about the future of driving when I was very young, and a university project concluded that in the future, cars would be able to connect to each other and slide onto some sort of rail system when driving on the highway, so nobody would have to worry about steering or speeding when covering the long stretches of the journey. Not surprising, the project couldn’t have been more wrong in its conclusion. But why didn’t it work? It would have reduced accidents, pollutant emissions, road wear and maintenance costs, and it would have probably been quite easy to develop guiding chips and software to let cars in and out of the chain.

Well, the answer is simple, and is proven by the fact that car sales are still going up worldwide in spite of an ever-growing range of alternative transportation methods available to the buyers: freedom. As global wealth keeps increasing, all societies can recognize that the first luxury people growing out of poverty take is to buy a car, in many cases even before considering taking out a mortgage to buy a house. Why do they do that? Obviously to signal their increased wealth to the people around them (it’s harder to show if your house is bought or rented), but also to enjoy the freedom of being able to go exactly where they want to go and when. In these corona times being able to move about without bumping into others in public transportation is of course also an important factor. If this wasn’t the case, car sales would be dropping rapidly. Public transportation is cheaper, if you compare it to total cost of ownership of a car it’s easy math, and in many cases it’s also faster and easier. Plus, you can be productive getting some work done or enjoying a good rest when you don’t have to sit at the wheel in a traffic jam.

For those who care about global warming and reducing the environmental impact, there’s even further incentive to get rid of the car, but still, this is not what we see in the new car sales figures – although you could argue that some people buy a new car because it pollutes less than the old one.

Bicycles

With all the new technology, it will be very interesting to see how smart mobility will be implemented in cities across the globe, and if it will change the trend for good. After all, it’s be big cities with massive population numbers that will make a difference for the planet. If we look at a city like Copenhagen, it has for many years focused on being the world’s best city to ride a bicycle in, and it has implemented many innovative structures allowing cyclists to zip from one place to another in a matter of minutes with minimal need to stop along the way. Some places bridges have been built just to cater to cyclists. No doubt you can get around faster and cheaper in Copenhagen if you ride a bike than by any other means of transportation.

Another thing that is becoming increasingly interesting in the big cities is the drone technology, now we have seen Chinese firefighters putting out high-rise fires using drones controlled from the ground, and many places they have also begun working as parcel or food delivery agents. But is there a viable case to argue that we will all be flying in private drone vessels instead of driving in cars in the coming decade? I wouldn’t bet my money on it. First of all, it would take long until the general public would trust a drone manufacturer enough to not fear dropping to the ground or being flung into a building or another drone mid-air at any moment. Second of all, they would most definitely run on electricity, which we know from electric cars means very heavy batteries and/or short operation times. Probably in colder regions you would also struggle with much lower performance during winter, and possibly weather conditions not allowing them to take off.

That’s another nightmare scenario – to be caught in a thunderstorm or hailstorm up in the air.

Naturally, the ultimate challenge would be that everyone would basically need to have a pilot license to operate them, and air traffic control would be an entirely new concept in this scenario. We have all seen movies like Stars Wars or The Fifth Element where flying vehicles somehow get into invisible lanes and layers, but it’s hard to see how that can go from fiction to reality.

Urban hubs

So, how can consumers most likely have their desire for freedom fulfilled within a smart mobility concept? Most likely by creating urban hubs or city line parking facilities, so it’s easy to take the car to, from, or between cities, but not inside them. At these hubs, you would park the car and jump on the next shuttle to anywhere in the city, or even ride a bike that you brought with you. Designing these hubs, along with ample green areas in the cities, is the only way that any city planner can create the grounds for real smart mobility, and not take people’s freedom away from them. Then the only thing left is to address the issue of the environmental impact caused by passenger cars, both combustion engine emissions and tyre pollution from wear during use and waste management at end of tyre life.

Tyre manufacturers don’t seem to be making huge changes to the technology yet, except for a few innovative products like the Michelin Tweel – and the ultimate challenge is of course that the vehicle so far has to be in contact with the road surface to move and handle satisfactorily. It’s hard to imagine any tyre concept where rubber against the road surface isn’t involved, and it’s also hard to imagine any tyre manufacturer supporting such a project, given the massive investments they have in their production equipment, which isn’t easy to readjust to put out something else. Well, at least not any serious manufacturer – there was a Chinese plant that stopped producing tyres this year to start producing face masks instead because of corona demand, but that probably says something about the quality of both products coming out of that factory, and it makes me very interested in reading their mission statement.

Ultimately, for tyre manufacturers to start investing in any game changing product development, we would have to see a development like we have seen with British Tobacco actually advertising against smoking – which is very much in line with the trends of the day but doesn’t seem rational from a business perspective. So, to conclude, I’ll venture a bet that we won’t see any drastic changes in how much smarter our mobility options will become until we either see a scenario that will allow people to experience the same level of freedom as owning a car, drastically reducing the environmental impact from driving and tyre waste, and/or creating cities where it utterly doesn’t make any sense to drive instead of hopping on the city’s smart mobility system, whatever that might turn out to be.

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Yokohama Rubber reported record sales and profit for fiscal 2025, marking a fifth consecutive year of growth, as higher tyre volumes and a stronger product mix offset one-off costs linked to an acquisition.

Sales revenue rose 12.8 percent year on year to USD 8.2 billion. Business profit increased 24.0 percent to USD 1.11 billion, while operating profit advanced 28.3 percent to USD 1.02 billion. Profit attributable to owners of parent climbed 40.7 percent to USD 0.70 billion. The business profit margin reached a record 13.5 percent.

The company said the increase in consolidated business profit reflected strong performance in existing operations, which absorbed one-time costs related to the acquisition and consolidation of Goodyear’s OTR business. In tyres, profit rose on higher unit sales of consumer tyres and continued growth in high-value-added ADVAN, GEOLANDAR and winter tyres, alongside larger-diameter products. In the MB segment, cost reductions and structural reforms supported profitability.

For fiscal 2026, management targets sales revenue of USD 8.7 billion, business profit of USD 1.25 billion, operating profit of USD 1.15 billion and profit attributable to owners of parent of USD 0.60 billion, aiming for a sixth consecutive year of sales and profit growth.

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Hankook Tire played its role as the exclusive tyre supplier to the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship to perfection at the series’ recent visit to Saudi Arabia for a double-header event under the floodlights at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. The company’s Hankook iON Race tyre was put to the test across two nights of intense racing, where driver precision and tyre durability were critical factors. In the first of the two rounds, Pascal Wehrlein of the Porsche Formula E Team claimed victory by combining consistent speed with clever positioning on the fast and challenging street circuit. The following evening, António Félix Da Costa of Jaguar TCS Racing took the win in a race that demanded careful attention to both energy consumption and tyre preservation until the very end.

The Jeddah circuit, measuring just over three kilometres and featuring 19 turns, is designed to complement Formula E’s unique braking and energy recovery systems. It offers a mix of long straights and demanding technical sections that place significant stress on tyres. Throughout both races, the Hankook iON Race tyre demonstrated its ability to maintain strong grip under heavy loads while managing heat effectively and supporting low rolling resistance. These characteristics are vital in a championship where tyre behaviour directly influences energy strategy and overall race outcomes.

In the days following the races, Formula E hosted its EVO Sessions 2 programme, inviting a group of international digital creators to experience the GEN3 Evo race car on the same circuit. The initiative, which first launched after last year’s Miami E-Prix, has generated substantial online engagement and provided additional visibility for Hankook’s tyre technology. Participants including Khaby Lame and Behzinga took part in driving sessions, while others assumed team principal roles for the event. The Hankook iON Race once again proved its capability by delivering strong traction and stability during these high-speed demonstrations.

Looking ahead, the championship will resume in Madrid on 21 March 2026 with a race at the Circuito de Madrid Jarama. This more compact and technically demanding permanent track will present a fresh challenge, with Hankook’s iON Race tyre continuing to serve as the foundation for competitive and sustainable racing.

Manfred Sandbichler, Senior Director, Hankook Motorsport, said, “Jeddah under the lights produced two demanding races with their own strategic patterns. Across both rounds, the iON Race demonstrated stable and consistent performance in conditions where track behaviour and tyre temperatures evolved through each session. Such tyre predictability is essential in helping teams execute their strategies on such a fast and technically complex circuit, and the data gathered here will feed directly into our ongoing iON development programme.”

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Two tyre service businesses with strong regional recognition in central Sweden and the Stockholm area, Västerås Däck and Arlandastad Däck, have been acquired by Citira, a Sweden-based company specialising in circular tyre management. These additions represent a significant step in Citira’s strategy to broaden its service network within the country.

Established in 2008 by Jalle Eriksson, Västerås Däck built a solid reputation for servicing both passenger cars and heavy vehicles, cultivating a dedicated customer base. This success led to the creation of Arlandastad Däck in 2020. The strategic placement of both facilities along the E4 and E18 corridors, combined with dedicated leadership and strong operational standards, positioned them for integration as vital service hubs within the expanding Citira network.

Daily operations at both locations will remain unchanged, with the existing staff continuing in their roles. The current management will stay on to run the businesses, now with access to Citira’s broader resources to foster future growth. As part of the agreement, Eriksson will transition into a co-ownership role within Citira, ensuring continuity and a shared vision for the businesses moving forward.

David Boman, CEO, Citira, said, “It is our privilege to welcome Jalle, Fredrik and Sofie to Citira, we look forward to working with them. The Eriksson family has made great achievements with both tyre shops and we are confident that adding these two service points will improve Citira’s service offering in both regions. We see great value in the experience that the Eriksson family brings and in the potential to operate these tyre shops alongside our current tyre shops in Västerås and Märsta.”

Eriksson said, “We are very impressed with what Citira has achieved so far. Their extensive network of tyre shops, broad service offering and industry experience will ensure that our service standards remain high going forward while enabling us to focus fully on serving our customers and exploring growth opportunities. We look forward to this partnership.”

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Dr Suttipong Angthong, Secretary-General of the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC), visited the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (MARGMA) in Kuala Lumpur on 13 February 2026. The meeting brought together the ANRPC representative with MARGMA's Executive Director, Linda Tey and Dr Amir Hashim Md Yatim to discuss potential avenues for collaboration between their two organisations.

The dialogue was focused on strengthening ties across the natural rubber and glove value chain. Key topics included enhancing downstream value addition, promoting sustainable practices and navigating the challenges presented by evolving global market dynamics. The conversation underscored a shared interest in a closer partnership to build greater industry resilience.

Both parties expressed a firm commitment to working together to foster sustainable growth and to reinforce Malaysia's significant role within the global rubber ecosystem. The discussions highlighted a mutual dedication to forging a more integrated and competitive future for the natural rubber and products sector.

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