Toyo and Michelin Conclude A Licensing Agreement for PAX System Technology.

May 6, 2004 OSAKA, JAPAN ― TOYO TIRE & RUBBER CO.,LTD. hereby announces that Toyo and Michelin signed a licensing agreement, under which Michelin will license its PAX System technology to Toyo. With the new agreement, Toyo obtains rights to produce and market run-flat systems for passenger cars and light trucks based on PAX System, both for auto makers and the replacement tire market in Japan.

PAX System, developed by Michelin in 1998, enables superior driving safety and comfort. It consists of four elements: an optimized and an unseatable tire; an asymmetrical wheel; a run-flat support ring that allows to keep driving at zero pressure during at least 200 km at 80km/h and a tire pressure monitoring system.

Toyo has been developing its own run-flat tire, supported by reinforced sidewalls, but the company has determined that the competitive superiority of the support ring type PAX System makes it a standard for future run-flat technology.