Dubbed the Bridgestone Innovative and Rational Development (BIRD), it is being refined under mass production conditions at a pilot plant in Japan before deployment at new and existing plants.

Management is positioning BIRD as a mainstay of future Bridgestone manufacturing for OE and afterfit tyres.

"BIRD permits unprecedented latitude in designing tyres," says a Bridgestone spokesman.

A single BIRD plant will be able to produce between 200,000 and 350,000 passenger car tyres a year. Automated, rather than human, inspection of tyres is expected to eliminate irregularities and faults on the finished product.