Growth despite challenges: Torque from the Top – Kumho Tyre UK managing director, Keon Park

Continuing our ongoing series of Torque from the top special interviews with influential industry figures, here Tyres & Accessories hears from Keon Park managing director, Kumho Tyre UK, who shares Kumho’s perspective on the challenges and triumphs of the last couple of years as well as the well-known brand’s hopes for the future.

Tyres & Accessories: How would you characterise Kumho’s transit through the tough challenges of the last couple of years?

Keon Park: It has certainly been a testing time. Add a shortage of vessels and containers to spiralling freight costs, and the fact that we are a deep sea importer with a long route to market and you might have expected us to lose ground to competitors with more local facilities. In fact, we have registered a significant growth in business, thanks to prudent stock management and pro-active customer support (we were very quick to get our sales team back on the road following the pandemic, and there was minimal disruption to our delivery service). The response from our customers has been overwhelmingly positive and is a testament to the strength of the partnership we enjoy with them.

T&A: What is Kumho’s strategy for sales growth in the UK?

KP: As far as passenger car, SUV and van products for the mainland are concerned, since 2017 the company has been fine tuning its move from a distributor-based sales model to a direct sales operation. There is now a firm platform through the independent channel to which regional outlets have been added in order to achieve nationwide coverage and local distribution hubs. Moreover, the brand has a good reputation for performance and quality, which makes it ideal for the discerning driver and, it has to be said, a reliable profit opportunity for our customers. The Kumho UK team is a remarkably small but hard-working operation that maintains excellent relationships with its retail and wholesale partners.

Sales on the island of Ireland are handled exclusively by Modern Tyres, as they have been for some 30 years now – a remarkable relationship that has resulted in big growth in business in the last decade. We also rely on distributors for our Kumho truck tyres and well-established second brand, Marshal – namely R H Claydon and Bond International respectively.

T&A: SUV tyres have stood out as an area of development for Kumho. How do these products fit into the brand’s wider strategy?

KP: The sustained growth in SUVs and CUVs has encouraged Kumho to build on its already strong hold on this sector of the market, and develop ever more road-orientated patterns in fitments of up to 22 inches in diameter. The company’s two main SUV patterns are the Red Dot Design Award-winning Crugen HP71 and the Ecsta PS71 SUV, which is gradually superseding the proven Crugen HP91 pattern. As the name suggests, Ecsta PS71 SUV is aimed directly at the latest breed of sports utility vehicle that will never stray far from the road and requires car-like qualities of ride and handling. It is therefore based on the much-praised PS71 passenger car tyre. SUV versions of the recently launched high-performance Ecsta HS52 and all-weather Solus 4S HA32 are also now becoming an integral part of the overall range. Kumho’s expertise in SUV tyres has won it an impressive line-up of related OEM contracts including ones for the Kia EV6; Renault Captur, Koleos and Arkana; Mercedes-Benz G-Class; Hyundai Staria and Nissan Pathfinder.

Kumho’s first European OEM contract dates back to the Volkswagen Polo of 2004. Since then, the company has supplied tyres to Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dacia, Dodge, Fiat, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Nissan, Renault, SsangYong and Seat, as well as Volkswagen. Its continuing success in Europe results in no little way from having a Frankfurt-based R&D facility that’s able to develop tyres specifically for European roads. Similar facilities in China and North America achieve equally impressive results for other regions.

T&A: What recent additions have been made to the Kumho range?

KP: Last year we introduced the PorTran CX11 all-season van tyre, which means we can now boast all-weather patterns across all our ranges, including the popular truck one, whose KXS10 and KXD10 reflect the commercial vehicle market’s ever-growing demand for multi-performance products. The most recent newcomers, however, are aimed at the passenger car market – the Ecsta HS52 high-performance pattern, and the WinterCraft WP52 cold weather pattern that will effectively supersede the established WP51 this year. Planned for next year is the ECSTA PS71 EV that will initially be available in up to 15 sizes to fit the rapidly growing parc of electric vehicles. Due in 2024 is the ECSTA PS72, another high-performance tyre that will ultimately replace both the ECSTA PS71 and the much-vaunted PS91 which, until then, will remain the company’s top UHP offering.

T&A: How is Kumho planning to serve the rapidly emerging EV market?

The dry weather Ecsta S700 as supplied (together with the wet weather Ecsta W701) for use in the TCR Europe and other TCR race series (Photo: Kumho)

KP: The company was among the first in its sector to develop such lightweight, low rolling resistance products as the high-performance Ecowing ES31. In 2015 came the Wattrun VS31, Kumho’s first pattern designed specifically for electric vehicles, that was no less than 25 per cent lighter than the conventional tyres of the time. The company now has one of the most comprehensive of all low-rolling resistance line-ups. This includes the two patterns being supplied to Kia for its ‘European Car of the Year’-winning battery electric model, the EV6. These versions of the company’s all-season Crugen HP71 and high-performance Ecsta PS71 are notable for their low levels of resonance noise, thanks to Kumho’s patented sound absorbing technology, K-Silent – an innovation that is likely to feature in an increasing number of the company’s products going forward.

T&A: Kumho has become renowned for its innovations. How has that benefited the brand?

KP: The company’s diversified and extended R&D network has resulted in numerous examples of innovative design and technology. Among them have been: the 32-inch SUV tyre; a 15 series UUHP car pattern; the first 20-inch van tyre; laser etched concept patterns; coloured smoke and even aroma tyres. Most recently, there has been the aforementioned K-Silent system, and the visually striking e-NIMF Airless and e-TOPs Hybrid tyres. In addition to helping push the boundaries of its production tyres, such innovations have engendered trust and confidence in the brand. They have also resulted in Kumho winning a stream of international awards. These include numerous Red Dot, iF and IDEA Design Awards, the holy trinity of international design accolades.

T&A: Kumho has a long history in motorsport. What is its current involvement?

KP: The company’s racing and rallying CV is impressive. For no less than 15 years it was the sole supplier of tyres to the blue riband Masters of F3 race, while for nine it equipped all contestants in the Euro F3 series, and on two occasions created and tested prototype patterns for F1. It has frequently been a front runner in tarmac rallying, helping the likes of Northern Irishman Eugene Donnelly to multiple championships. It developed special sand and mud terrain tyres to allow Bowler to successfully contest the mighty Dakar Rally, and even notched up a victory in the LMP2 class at Le Mans – the world’s pre-eminent endurance race. Previously also the sole supplier of tyres to the China Touring Car Championship, Kumho is once again playing a leading role in international tin top racing as the official tyre supplier to the TCR Europe race series, as well as the fixtures of TCR Spain, TCR Denmark and TCR Eastern Europe.

T&A: How does the company promote itself outside the automotive field?

KP: In Europe this is primarily achieved through top class football partnerships. In 2007 Kumho became the first Korean tyre company to engage in Premier League sponsorship via Manchester United. Following a recent contract extension, its ensuing relationship with Tottenham Hotspur will become the longest Premier League Club partnership with a Korean brand by the end of the term. The Spurs partnership entitles Kumho to a wide range of benefits, not least the ability to invite its customers to training sessions and home games, and even to participate in an annual five-a-side tournament where they rub shoulders with some of the Club’s legends who serve as team managers for the day. During the pandemic Kumho and the Club joined forces to introduce an award-winning Virtual Mascot programme, while in Europe the company is equally active in the Bundesliga, where it enjoys a fruitful partnership with Bayer 04 Leverkusen.