Vehicle Equipped With OPEN COUNTRY Wins Class at Dakar Rally 2023

Hyogo, Japan -January 16, 2023 -Toyo Tire Corporation(Headquarters: ItamiCity, Hyogo Prefecture; President & CEO: TakashiShimizu; hereinafter, "Toyo Tire") is pleased to announce that aToyota LandCruiser equipped with its hallmark tires has won the production cars categoryin the Dakar Rally 2023. Toyo Tire participated in the Dakar Rally 2023, whichwas staged in Saudi Arabia from December 31, 2022,to January 15, 2023,with TeamLand Cruiser Toyota Auto Body(hereinafter, "TLC"), a rally teamrun by ToyotaAuto Body Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Kariya City, Aichi Prefecture; President:Keiji Masui). Toyo Tire supported TLC by providing its OPEN COUNTRY M/T-Roff-road tires for pickup trucks and SUVs.

(Top of page: Vehicle equipped with OPEN COUNTRY M/T-R, Above: TLC celebrating its 10th consecutive victory)

Toyo Tyre has supported TLC in the Dakar Rally since2021, announcing last year that it would continue to support their participation in thisrally*1. Tapping into the technology and experience in off-road racing cultivated together with TLC, we havedeveloped OPEN COUNTRY M/T-R off-road tires with special specifications for the Dakar Rally2023*2 (hereinafter, the "Product"). Featuring improved performance on rough roads such as rockyterrain and deserts and lower environmental impact made possible by blending in sustainable materials,the Product was supplied to two Land Cruiser 300 cars (also with special specificationsfor the Dakar Rally 2023).

*1 https://www.toyotires.co.jp/press/2022/221114.html
*2 Tire size: LT285/70R17 116/113P

Cutting across Saudi Arabia from the west to eastcoast, participants in the Dakar Rally 2023 competed for the lowest cumulative driving time inthe 15 special stages (competitive sections), including the prologue stage before the officialstart of the race, and the liaison sections (untimed sections) that span the distances between the specialstages. The total distance covered, combining the special stages and liaison sections, wasapproximately 8,900km, including lengthy dune stages that placed a heavy burden on both vehicles andtires. Even so, both TLC vehicles finished the race, with the Product’s outstanding performance on roughterrain and resistance to external damage supporting their long drive. In the production carcategory, Ronald Basso/Jean Michel Polato’s car took 1st place, and Akira Miura/LaurentLichtleuchter’s car took 2nd place to make a one-two finish, giving TLC their 10th consecutive victory in thiscategory.

TLC Director Yuji Kakutani commented, "This time, wecompeted with OPEN COUNTRY M/T-R, whose specifications were improved to maximize theperformance of the Land Cruiser 300 and greatly aided in securing our 10th consecutivevictory in the production car category at the Dakar Rally 2023. The dune stages of this year’s race werechallenging, with many difficult spots that could only have been cleared with the combination of thelighter-weight Land Cruiser 300 and OPEN COUNTRY M/T-R, but I am glad that we were able toutilize the strengths of our joint development efforts." Akira Miura, the team driver, sent hismessage of gratitude, "It was indeed a difficult rally with a tougher route setting than we had expected. Withthe synergy between OPEN COUNTRY M/T-R and Land Cruiser 300, however, we were able to pushour limits even in the dune stages—one of the most difficult ones ever. I’m now fully convinced Ican successfully compete in the increasingly difficult Dakar Rally. Thank you for all yoursupport."

In its medium-term business plan, Mid-term ’21 Plan,Toyo Tire announced its intention to strengthen the development of products with unique designs andfunctionality, such as the OPEN COUNTRY tire series. Going forward, we will continue feedingthe knowledge gained through racing back to the product development process in a bid to deliverattractive products with higher performance and quality.

(Reference)

OPEN COUNTRY M/T-R (with special specifications forthe Dakar Rally 2023)

This special version of Toyo Tire’s flagship brand wasdeveloped by improving OPEN COUNTRY M/T-R (LT285/70R17 116/113P), which hadbeen developed in 2021 for use at the Dakar Rally. For the optimal fit intoLand Cruiser 300 (Dakar Rally 2023 specifications), the vehicle that TLC usedfor the Dakar Rally 2023, the rubber design and tire structure were tuned forenhanced durability. While pursuing performance on rough road surfaces such asrocky terrain and deserts, we adopted a design, compound, and high-rigiditybead structure that minimize tire damage caused by impacts at high speeds. In line with our corporate policy to"create a society of sustainable mobility," sustainable materials are used. Ofthe tire components, tire treads, carcass plies, and sidewalls are mainly madeof butadiene rubber and styrene-butadiene rubber derived from biomass*, and recycledbead wires are used to increase the utilization rate of recycled materials.

* Derived from plants and other renewable materials