International Focus – Autoway, Japan
18th June 2021
Autoway have been Davanti Tyres’ exclusive distributor in Japan for two years and their work to establish the brand helped make the Protoura Sport launch a huge success.
Across Japan, from Hokkaido in the north to Fukuoka in the south, Autoway has five warehouses with a capacity to hold 860,000 tyres and Davanti Tyres has become a trusted brand in Japan through their efforts.
Recently Davanti launched its next generation UHP tyre – Protoura Sport – in Japan and the response was fantastic. The first delivery of Protoura Sport tyres arrived in April and sold out very quickly which, for a brand-new product in an international market, was a significant achievement.
Autoway handles many brands produced in China, Taiwan, Indonesia and Thailand. As a British brand, Davanti’s premium-level European development programme, quality control and effective, clear marketing materials have helped attract the
attention of consumers.
Assets like Davanti’s technical product feature videos clearly explain the performance characteristics of its tyres and help Autoway customers to understand the benefits of choosing Davanti Tyres.
Tsuyoshi Tanaka, Senior Executive Director of Autoway, said it was a major success.
“Not only have Davanti Tyres engineered an exceptional product,” he said. “They have worked with us to market it to our customers at a premium level.
“The result has been high demand for Protoura Sport from the very start and we are proud to be able to exclusively supply it throughout Japan.”
With Autoway’s support, Davanti Tyres have been welcomed in Japan by drivers of all vehicles.
Recent customer reviews include:
For Protoura: I replaced these tyres from OE and feel more comfortable than before. I can feel sidewall softness and am very satisfied with the quality as well as good handling response. Also, the vehicle’s stability is better. Comprehensively I am happy with this pattern, which I purchased at a good price.
For DX640: Great tires! I also like the design. The dry and wet running when commuting is very stable and I cannot complain. The bite to the road surface is very good and you can easily trace the line. The fuel economy has
improved even more, and driving has become much easier since I changed to Davanti tyres with outstanding stability even on highways, even on hard wet roads where you cannot see ahead well, due to rain.
Autoway has launched billboard campaigns featuring Davanti along major highways around Nagoya City and has completed a substantial warehouse expansion to hold more stock.
Through social media Autoway has further reinforced Davanti’s brand messaging, exposing Japan’s huge digital-native population to the British tyre brand.
Autoway earned the mantle of No.1 e-commerce tyre business company in Japan in this year from the Japanese Marketing Research Organization. It was ranked number one in Japan for cumulative sales (27 million units), number
one in annual sales (2.3 million units) and number one in word-of-mouth awareness of the Autoway brand. It is targeting annual mid-term sales of three million units in a year.
“Davanti’s efforts to supply key product materials in Japanese have been crucial to the brand’s success,” said Mr Tanaka. “As the Davanti range grows and innovates we anticipate its popularity in Japan will continue to rise.”
