Where Are Falken Tires Made, And Who Owns The Company Today?

Some gearheads will tell you that where a tire is made says a lot about how it performs, how long it lasts, and if it can take on the roads you throw at it. For Falken, that story starts in Japan but stretches far beyond. The company has three major plants in its home country. They include Shirakawa, Izumiotsu, and Miyazaki. 

Of the three, Shirakawa is the largest, with the ability to churn out over 10,000 tons of tires every month for buses and trucks. The plant has been up and running since 1974, and continues to be Falken's largest plant in Japan in terms of production output. Then there's Izumiotsu, situated only a short distance from Osaka. It is Falken's oldest plant in Japan, having opened its doors as far back as 1944, and is currently responsible for more specialized products, such as tires for motorcycles and farm applications. Rounding things out is Miyazaki, which opened in the mid-1980s, making it the youngest of the three, but efficient enough to nearly match Shirakawa in production capacity.

That said, Falken doesn't confine its entire production line to Japan, and there are reasons for that. Its parent company, Sumitomo Rubber Industries, runs state-of-the-art factories in the U.S., China, Brazil, Turkey, and South Africa, all aimed at meeting global demand and streamlining distribution.

As mentioned previously, Falken is owned by Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI), the world's sixth-largest tire manufacturer. When it first launched the Falken brand in 1983, the idea was to join the performance tire scene and take on big names like Bridgestone and Yokohama. Sumitomo still runs the show, with its headquarters in Kobe, Japan, and Falken isn't its only badge. Not only does the company produce Sumitomo-branded tires, in May 2025, Sumitomo officially acquired complete control of the Dunlop brand worldwide. It acquired the rights in North America and Europe after buying out Goodyear in a whopping $735 million deal. The two companies have had a long and complex partnership, which at one point had them controlling the Dunlop brand independently in different markets after a split in 2015. Goodyear assumed control in the U.S. and Sumitomo in Japan and other regions. But that's now changed with the new deal.

Falken still operates with its own brand identity and focus, despite being part of a large corporation, especially in Europe and the U.S., where Falken Tire Corporation handles all the operations. And while Falken is not the most popular tire brand, it still enjoys the backing of a multinational parent with serious global reach and manufacturing muscle. It's making a name for itself, particularly among performance-minded gearheads and off-roaders. 

Falken may not be the first name that comes to mind when you're looking to buy new tires for your car; most people immediately think Goodyear, Bridgestone, or Michelin. Even so, Falken seems to be doing a pretty good job building a name for itself as one of the best tire brands out there by sticking to what it does best: delivering performance-oriented tires at forgiving prices. The Wildpeak series, which has garnered recognition for fusing off-road grip with on-road comfort, has been one of Falken's greatest successes in recent years, and some Jeep and Ram truck models even come with it as standard.

Falken has a strong interest in motorsports and has a lengthy history in Formula Drift and endurance racing, which influences its consumer tire tech. For instance, the Azenis range uses that technology to provide grip without totally sacrificing comfort. In 2023, Falken topped J.D. Power's customer satisfaction survey for original truck and utility vehicle tires, indicating the brand is doing more than just building a reputation in niche markets.