Toyo Tires swooped into the 2023 Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas, Nevada, with its new Open Country A/T III EV all-terrain tire. This EV-specific tire is developed from the ground up to address the unique needs of electric-powered trucks and SUVs.

What Is The Specialty Equipment Market Association Show?

The SEMA Show, as it is commonly known, is an annual event put on by the Specialty Equipment Market Association. The show happens in Las Vegas, Nevada, and it encompasses four days. It’s an automotive-based trade show that contains approximately 2,400 exhibiting companies, covers 2.2 million square feet, and draws over 161,000 people. It’s known for being a venue for new products, like the Toyo Tires Open Country A/T III EV tire.

Why An EV All-Terrain Tire?

Electric vehicles have unique requirements. Toyo knows this, so the company created the all-new Open Country A/T III EV to satisfy those needs. The tire addresses the instant torque, rapid acceleration, additional weight, and range efficiency of electric-powered vehicles. The tire builds on the impressive performance of the current Open Country A/T III. Thus, the EV version delivers outstanding off-road performance. It also offers confidence-inspiring on-road handling and ride comfort. For those in the snow belt, you’ll be pleased to know that the tire is equipped with the Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol.

Features Of The Open Country A/T III EV All-Terrain Tire

Toyo designed the Open Country A/T III EV to maximize aerodynamics. It accomplishes this in several ways, including a sidewall AeroWing and a smoother sidewall. Furthermore, it has chamfered shoulder blocks to help reduce wind drag. Additionally, the tire has an optimized tread pattern and an advanced tread compound. These items help to reduce rolling resistance, improve durability, and offer long tread life. However, the tire still maintains rugged off-road performance and the cool appearance that buyers want.

Wide Range of Sizes

There is no standard size in the all-terrain tire world. Toyo knows this, too, and accordingly, it will produce the Open Country A/T III EV in a wide range of sizes and high-load combinations for 18-24-inch wheel diameters. The first LT size, LT275/60R20, will drop in February 2024 and it’ll be an LT-metric upgrade for the Ford F-150 Lightning. Developers plan to release other OE and plus sizes of LT- and P/Euro-metric tires later in 2024. These tires will fit EV trucks and SUVs such as the Rivian R1T and R1S, and the GMC Hummer EV. Toyo says it will make future announcements for vehicles like the Tesla Cybertruck and Chevrolet/GMC EVs. Toyo will unveil more sizes as the EV segment grows and new vehicles become available.

Designed, Developed, And Tested In The USA

“At Toyo Tires, we are enthusiasts, heavily involved in the off-road and overlanding communities across the country. We listen to our customers and continually strive to develop solutions to match their desires and make tires people love. At the onset of this development, our goal was to support EV truck and SUV customers with a bespoke version of the Open Country A/T III, retaining the performance and appearance that our customers love, with innovative features added to maintain a high level of efficiency.” stated Todd Bergeson, Senior Manager of Product Planning & Technical Services at Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. “This state-of-the-art EV-specific all-terrain replacement tire for trucks and SUVs was designed, developed, and tested at our R&D facility in White, GA, USA. Each tire in our Open Country product family is designed to fit a specific application and we are proud to fulfill this need for our EV consumers.”