European tyres making gains in Korean market

South Korea’s tyre market has long been dominated by domestic manufacturers Hankook, Kumho and Nexen, but the country’s ‘big three’ are losing ground to imports at both the premium and budget ends of the market. According to information released by the Korea Tire Manufacturers Association yesterday, imports of tyres increased 9.9 per cent year-on-year in the first six months of 2015, and totalled 3.73 million units.

Although Chinese tyres accounted for around half of all imports, with sales of these products rising five per cent year-on-year to 1.88 million units in the first half of the year, sales of tyres produced in the USA and Germany rose the fastest. Products from these countries enjoyed respective growth of 76.7 per cent (to 204,000 units) and 206.7 per cent (to 261,000 units). Germany’s Continental has benefited from the homologation of its tyres (along with Michelin products) for original equipment fitment on the new Hyundai Genesis luxury saloon, which was introduced in March. The two brands will also be supplied as original equipment tyres on the new Equus, which will come to market later this year – this is the first time Hyundai’s flagship Equus model has been fitted with imported tyres.

In contrast to the success enjoyed by the imports, sales from the three South Korean tyre makers fell 3.1 per cent year-on-year, to 48.72 million tyres. Of this, domestic sales accounted for 11.53 million units, 4.4 per cent down on a year earlier, while exports of Korean-made tyres declined 2.4 per cent to 36.73 million units.