Hankook Confirms News of VW OE Deal

Hankook has confirmed reports it has reached an agreement with Volkswagen for the delivery of 70,000 tyres per year as original equipment on the latest model VW Tiguan. Effective immediately, the compact Volkswagen SUV will leave the assembly line equipped with, amongst others, Hankook’s Dynapro HP tyre in size 215/65 R 16 H. The Hankook Dynapro HP is a high performance tyre intended predominantly, but not exclusively, for on-road use and was specifically designed for the ever more popular class of smaller yet powerful SUV vehicles such as the Tiguan.

The Hankook Dynapro HP – some sizes of which are produced at the company’s recently opened facility in Hungary – features a symmetric 5-rib pattern designed to provide excellent directional stability even at high speeds. The tie bars lying between the tread elements allow for enhanced lateral stiffness while improving dry braking performance. Hankook adds that they also, in combination with the tyre’s relatively tight block arrangement, offer greater circumferential stiffness and a reduced rate of wear.

In order to assure a low and harmonic noise level the outer tread elements of the Dynapro HP have been equipped with laterally aligned grooves known as kerfs. Four main tread grooves effectively channel water away from the pattern and provide, together with the wet-optimised tread compound, for a secure road contact even on rainy roads. The two-step graduated grooves in the pattern’s outer section together with the semi-grooves incorporated in the outer tread blocks further prevent hydroplaning.

The Dynapro HP is available in 33 dimensions from 15 to 18-inch with speed indexes T and H. All sizes are marked as mud and snow rated and some carry the extra-load XL designation. The range covers a wide range of sizes for many vehicles, from compact 4×4 vehicles up to large luxury SUVs.

In addition to supplying tyres for the new Tiguan, Hankook equips the Volkswagen Polo, Golf and Caddy models. “Hankook Tire has been an established original equipment supplier for several models of Europe’s largest car manufacturer Volkswagen for five years now,” comments Seung-Do Jin, executive vice-president of Hankook Tire and COO of Hankook Tire’s European activities. “Besides supplying tyres for the VW Golf, the best-selling car in Europe, we now provide original equipment tyres for the latest VW model.

“This proves,” Mr. Jin continues, “that we have successfully managed to step onto the European market, known for its high technologic and quality standards. Building on a stable demand we can now expect additional growth in the area of original equipment and also in the replacement market. This is one of the reasons why we have strongly invested in our manufacturing plant in Hungary, which we place high expectations in.”