Kumho USA outlines 2013 products at dealer meeting

This year’s Kumho Tire USA dealer meeting took place between 7 and 10 December, and Tire Review reports that while the tyre maker’s management acknowledged next year will likely be similar to 2012 – in other words, a challenging year for dealers and for the industry in general – the company focused on what its dealers can look forward to.

Several new products were highlighted at the meeting, including the Kumho Sense KR26 all-season touring tyre and a still-to-be-named new Ecsta all-season UHP tyre. Significant enhancements to Kumho’s Premium Fuel programme, an all-new Kumho Dealer Portal, and a renewed strength in the radial medium truck tyre market were also covered at the meeting.

According to Armand Allaire, Kumho Tire USA’s national vice president of sales, the economic uncertainty of 2012 has resulted in a “wait and see attitude,” but “Kumho Tire USA is now.” On the new product front, product planning coordinator John Mosby announced new OE fitments with the 2013 Mini Cooper John Cooper Works GP, Hyundai Santa Fe and Veloster, and the Dodge Dart.

He said the new Ecsta AST, slated for release in the third quarter of 2013, will come in 27 ‘V’ rated sizes for 15 to 18-inch wheel diameters. The yet-to-be-named tyre, which will be marketed to sports cars and saloons, is a “well-rounded tyre that excels in all-season traction, wet and dry handling and long mileage,” Mosby said, adding it also offers impressive snow braking, handling and acceleration. The Kumho Sense KR26, an ‘H’ rated all-season touring tyre, will launch in the first quarter of 2013 in 28 sizes ranging for 13 to 17-inch wheel diameters. According to Mosby, the lightweight tyre, which targets small saloons and hatchbacks, offers circumferential grooves for water evacuation and improved lateral grip; a full-depth sipe system for enhanced wet, dry and light snow traction; multiple lateral grooves for improved traction; and a variable pitch tread block for a quiet ride.

In his address to meeting attendees, company president and CEO J.B. Kim, stated that “when tough economic times face us, we must join forces to overcome obstacles. There are no easy promises, but this is what we can tell you…that you can and should count on Kumho Tire in 2013.”