Establishment of a Tire Sales Subsidiary in Italy（30, November, 2006）

Toyo Tire Europe GmbH (Neuss, Germany, President: Takeo Suzuki), a European tire sales subsidiary of Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd. (President: Yoshio Kataoka), acquired on November 29 local time equity interests in Toyo Tire Italia S.p.A (Collesalvetti, Italy, President: Marco Cecconi), an independent Italian dealer for Toyo’s products, in order to make it a 100% subsidiary of Toyo Tire Europe GmbH.

Toyo Tire Europe GmbH was established in January 2005. It serves as European regional headquarters and is responsible for formulating and implementing strategies to bolster Toyo’s brand position in the multifaceted European market in a comprehensive and speedy manner. It has two sales subsidiaries operating in major markets under its umbrella, Toyo Tyre（UK）Ltd. (Rushden, United Kingdom), and Toyo Tire Benelux B.V. (Roosendaal, Netherlands).

The acquisition of the Italian company, which has been steadily expanding sales in the domestic market, the third biggest in Western Europe after Germany and France, aims to demonstrate Toyo’s deepening commitment to the market, and further boost its sales across Europe.