The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., has begun supplying its 507U rib-lug tyres for low-floor buses to Isuzu Motors Limited for use as standard equipment on the automaker’s ERGA EV, a BEV flat-floor route bus, which was launched in May 2024.
Yokohama Rubber Supplies Tyres for Isuzu Electric Bus
The 507U bears Yokohama Rubber’s proprietary “E+” mark to indicate that it has special qualities suitable for electrified vehicles. The ERGA EV is being equipped with 275/70R22.5 148/145J size tyres.
Yokohama Rubber expects the 507U’s enhanced durability and wear resistance when used on low-floor buses and increased ability to be retread will enhance its appeal for use on EV buses. In addition, it achieves fuel-efficient performance, quiet performance and wet braking performance at high levels. Moreover, the “E+” mark is engraved on the side of the tyre, showing that it is a product equipped with technology that meets the unique needs of electrified vehicles, such as the strength to withstand the higher loads associated with heavy electric batteries and the electric motor’s high torque output, quietness that complements the lack of noise from the vehicle’s engine, improvement of vehicle electricity and other energy consumption efficiency, and support for the expansion of driving range.
ERGA EV is the first BEV flat-floor route bus developed by Isuzu. The BEV’s layout flexibility allows for the elimination of steps at the rear of the bus, creating a fully flat-floor interior, allowing passengers to easily get on and off the bus as a conventional non-step diesel-engine bus.
Under Yokohama Rubber’s three-year (2024–2026) medium-term management plan, Yokohama Transformation 2026 (YX2026), the Company positions commercial tyres as a business that is expected to grow significantly in the future. To strengthen its position in the commercial tyre market, Yokohama Rubber is endeavouring to enhance its tyres’ technological capabilities and raise its brand value by promoting the use of its tyres as original equipment on new vehicles that demand the highest tyre technology.
