AKRON, Ohio, April 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Trends in the global tire industry play to the strengths of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ: GT) and its strategy to drive profitable growth.

"The accelerating shift to high-value-added tires for both consumer vehicles and commercial trucks is the main product trend shaping the future of the tire industry," Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President Richard J. Kramer said at the company's annual shareholder meeting today.

In the consumer tire business, he said, this trend is best represented by the growth of tires with rim diameters of 17 inches and larger. The market for this segment, he said, has doubled since 2010 and is expected to double again by 2020.

Goodyear's advantage over its competitors, Kramer said, is the company's connected business model, which integrates its consumer-facing strengths – such as OE relationships and powerful marketing relationships – with its aligned distribution network.

"Some tire companies are strong in one or a few of these areas, but very few can manage all the elements of complexity within a connected business model like Goodyear," he said.

Other trends highlighted by Kramer were the complexity of supplying automakers due to the increasing variety of vehicle offerings and the changing expectations of technology-enabled consumers.

During the annual meeting, shareholders re-elected 13 members of the company's Board of Directors to new one-year terms, approved Goodyear's 2017 Performance Plan and voted to ratify the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for 2017. A shareholder proposal to require that future board chairpersons be independent directors was not approved. In advisory votes, shareholders approved the compensation of the company's named executive officers and continuing to hold that vote on an annual basis.

Goodyear is one of the world's largest tire companies. It employs about 66,000 people and manufactures its products in 48 facilities in 21 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. For more information about Goodyear and its products, go to www.goodyear.com/corporate.  GT-FN

Certain information contained in this press release constitutes forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There are a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control, that affect our operations, performance, business strategy and results and could cause our actual results and experience to differ materially from the assumptions, expectations and objectives expressed in any forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: our ability to implement successfully our strategic initiatives; actions and initiatives taken by both current and potential competitors; increases in the prices paid for raw materials and energy; a labor strike, work stoppage or other similar event; foreign currency translation and transaction risks; deteriorating economic conditions or an inability to access capital markets; work stoppages, financial difficulties or supply disruptions at our suppliers or customers; the adequacy of our capital expenditures; our failure to comply with a material covenant in our debt obligations; potential adverse consequences of litigation involving the company; as well as the effects of more general factors such as changes in general market, economic or political conditions or in legislation, regulation or public policy. Additional factors are discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent our estimates only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing our estimates as of any subsequent date. While we may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, even if our estimates change.

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SOURCE The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company