Goodyear Announces Sustainable, Soy-Based Tires for City Transit, Waste Haul Fleets

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company recently announced that two lines of its commercial tires are now made with a renewable soybean oil compound. The Goodyear Metro Miler G152 and G652 tires for transit buses along with the popular Endurance WHA waste haul tire are now made with soybean oil, which replaces a portion of the petroleum-based materials used in their production. Both the Metro Miler tires and the Endurance WHA waste haul tire continue to deliver the expected high-performance benefits. The new soy-biobased tires build on the soy checkoff's research investment and longstanding partnership with the global tire company.

"Goodyear's roll out of their first soy-biobased tires for waste haul and city buses is a breakthrough for U.S. soybean growers and the cities that depend on high-performing and sustainable tires," said USB Chair Ralph Lott, a soybean farmer from Seneca Falls, N.Y. "City and other fleet leaders have told us they want soy in tires for such heavy equipment. These big tires are another exciting way to deliver sustainable soy to more lives, every day."

Goodyear had a goal to increase the use of soybean oil in place of petroleum-based oil by 25% by the end of 2019. Goodyear met, and far exceeded, this goal by increasing its soybean oil use by 90% in 2019, 73% in 2020 and 13% in 2021. Goodyear has a long-term goal to fully replace petroleum-derived oils in its products by 2040. This commitment drives additional demand for U.S. Soy products, grown sustainably by U.S. soybean farmers.

The Metro Miler and Endurance tires are just a few of various commercially available soy-biobased tires resulting from the checkoff research investment with Goodyear. The soybean SKUs also feature technology designed to resist sidewall damage, enhance toughness and provide long tread life.

"The use of soybean oil in the majority of the Metro Miler G152 and G652 tires in production today is a significant Goodyear innovation that reduces the amount of petroleum-based materials needed for production," said Dustin Lancy, commercial product marketing manager, Goodyear North America.

Goodyear's sixth line of tires containing soy are its popular Endurance waste haul tires. The tires are available for order and will head into production in Q3 of 2022.