Re-branding for Kumho in China?

Kumho Tire’s Namkyung tyre factory in Nanjing, China is one of some 172 plants said to have fallen foul of the local government’s fight against pollution. Chinese media sources report that the city of Nanjing has ordered the said factories to relocate or cease production on environmental grounds. The tyre maker is now said to be discussing plans for relocation outside of Nanjing with the Chinese government.

These relocation plans are not linked to questions raised about product quality at Kumho’s Tianjin factory earlier this year and the subsequent recall of 75,000 cars fitted with Kumho tyres as original equipment – a topic that, incidentally, retains a high profile. On July 7 the China Car Times website gave news of “Chinese automotive media reports” indicating that Kumho’s management believe the brand to be “irreversibly damaged by the media attention over the past four months” and thus are planning to “dump the Kumho brand in the Chinese market and start again with a newer brand.”