TOKYO >> Leading tire makers are accelerating the development of tires made with biomass.

Manufacturers are reviewing not only the environmental performance of their automobiles, but the raw materials, parts and components they use to produce those vehicles. Environmentally friendly tires are likely to give automakers an edge in the market.

Sumitomo Rubber Industries, which sells the Dunlop brand, has been working to manufacture a new synthetic rubber by breeding rubber trees that contain tomato- derived enzymes. Because tomato enzymes enhance strength, this new rubber is expected to reduce wear on tires.

A Sumitomo director said the company plans to put the new product on the market by the 2040s.

Tires for cars are generally manufactured with compounds — several kinds of rubber are mixed with agents that reinforce and bind materials. Butadiene is a synthetic rubber often produced from naphtha, which is obtained from petroleum.

The Yokohama Rubber Co. has developed a technology for producing butadiene from plants such as sugar cane and has used it to create prototype tires. In June its racing team drove a vehicle equipped with the tires in the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb race in Colorado, where cars compete on mountain roads. The company’s vehicle completed the race. It has set a target of producing the new product for commercial use in 2034.

Global sales of new cars have been brisk, with demand for tires also high.

According to Report Ocean, a U.S. market research company, the automobile tire market reached $144.7 billion in 2021. From 2022 to 2030, it is expected to grow annually by an average of 4%.

For automakers across the globe, the environmental impact of manufacturing has been called into question, prompting companies to seek more environmentally friendly alternatives for parts and components.

Natural rubber is currently one of the primary raw materials used to produce tires. In Southeast Asia, where more than 90% of rubber-producing plants are grown, there is concern that the resource will be depleted by logging, and there are efforts to find new plants to replace rubber trees.

Bridgestone is looking closely at a shrub called guayule, a plant native to North America. With a goal of putting guayule to commercial use in 2026, the rubber and tire manufacturer has provided racing teams with test tires made from the material.

“We want to make our business sustainable by using diversified natural resources,” said a Bridgestone spokesperson.

The challenge going forward is securing large quantities of new materials. Bridgestone, in collaboration with Kirin, which is researching hops for beer, has begun research on cultivating guayule and creating a system to develop farmland.