90% sales from EVs by 2030 Bridgestone wants to make its 90% of sales from tires for Electric Vehicles (EVs) by 2030. Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational auto and truck […]
Bridgestone wants to make its 90% of sales from tires for Electric Vehicles (EVs) by 2030. Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational auto and truck parts manufacturer and one of the leading companies across the globe. However, South Korean and Chinese competitors enter the market and are increasing their market share thanks to low price. Thus, the Japanese company has to find a new opportunity to offer its high value and improve profitability.
The company has already made a decision to withdraw low price tires in Europe. As a result, it will change the factories in Europe for EVs. Of course, it needs investment to change production line for from combustion engine vehicles to EVs. However, this change is unavoidable and necessary. In fact, according to several media, some automotive manufacturers including Volkswagen adopts Bridgestone’s tires for their EVs.
Bridgestone is the 2nd market share of the automotive tire market and just behind Michelin, French automotive parts maker. However, the profitability of Bridgestone has been decreasing due to the competition. Therefore, the company has to invest in tires for EVs now.
In 1931Shojiro Ishibashi founded Bridgestone and his name “Ishibashi” led to the company name “Bridgestone”. In Japanese kanji, Ishibashi can be divided by two parts and one is “Ishi” and the other is “Bashi”. When we translate each word in English, “Ishi” and “Bashi” are “Stone” and “Bridge”, respectively. However, Ishibashi flipped the name like Bridgestone and did not decide the company name as “stone bridge”.
Why? First of all, Ishibashi wanted to sell products overseas and thought that English name would be more acceptable. However, he did not like the sound of “stone bridge”. As a result, he made a decision that his company name was Bridgestone. Nowadays, Bridgestone is one of the leading tire and rubber companies in the world. We can see this in Bridgestone’s official blog.
As we see the other article, the demand of EVs has soared up. Of course, there are several reasons why we need more EVs. Many governments in the world subsidize to buy EVs, and this is just one example. However, when it comes to the quality and features of EVs, there lots of room for improvement.
For example, EVs must be lighter since their weight really affects how long to drive in a single charge. When we recall the famous equation of kinetic energy, which is equal to one-half the product of its mass and the square of its velocity, we can understand how important to reduce EV’s mass. The heavier EVs are, the more energy are needed, and vice versa. Thus, if EVs become lighter, it means that they can drive longer, cost effective and environmental friendly.
Bridgestone researched and developed its tires for EVs. As a result, they can be 20% lighter than other tires and reduce resistance between them and roads. Therefore, they are really attractive for automotive manufacturers and give high value to them. Of course, its competitors including Michelin will follow or go ahead in this area. In this sense, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the industry must know how EVs and their components are changing. This is because the change always give SMEs both opportunities and risks.
