Yokohama have announced that it is supplying its Advan V03 tyres as original equipment (OE) to Toyota Motor Corporation for use on the automaker’s new luxury minivans, the Alphard and Vellfire, which were launched in June 2023. The Alphard is being fitted with 225/65/R17 102H and 225/60R18 100H size tyres while the Vellfire is being equipped with 225/65/R17 102H.
The Advan V03 is a high-performance tyre in Yokohama’s global flagship Advan brand. The tyres being supplied as OE for Alphard and Vellfire were developed using specialised tuning to match their tread pattern, profile, and tyre structure to the vehicle characteristics, while also employing an optimal pitch sequence obtained using evolutionary computation (genetic algorithms) by Yokohama Rubber’s proprietary HAICoLab*, an AI-based development framework. The development allows the tyres to contribute to a highly stable, comfortable, and quiet ride that befits the Alphard and Vellfire. In addition, the lightweight design reduces rolling resistance.
HAICoLab aims to foster new discoveries and digital innovation by merging human inspiration and creativity with AI’s enormous data processing capability. This framework is applied in the development of the Advan V03 through AI’s predict, analyse, and search functions using collected actual data and virtual data generated by simulations.
Under Yokohama Rubber’s three-year (2021–2023) medium-term management plan, Yokohama Transformation 2023 (YX2023), the consumer tyre business aims to maximise the sales ratios of high-value-added Yokohama tyres, namely the global flagship Advan brand, the Geolander brand of tyres for SUVs and pickup trucks, and various winter tyres. One of the key initiatives under this strategy is expanding the adoption of Advan and Geolander tyres as original equipment on new cars.
