In measures aimed at enhancing “shareholder-friendly management”, Hankook Tire intends to buy back around KRW 50 billion (£34 million) of its shares over the coming six months and will also “sharply expand” the size of its dividends. In addition, the tyre maker will form a support group for external directors and implement an electronic voting system.
Hankook Tire has become a sponsor of the Nürburgring Endurance Series, the race event at the renown German circuit that previously went by the name VLN Endurance Championship and billed as the largest motorsport championship in the world. The tyre maker hopes this new tie-up will be the start of a “long term partnership” with the retitled, open tyre supply motorsport series.
Truck tyres are joining the ranks of Hankook Tire’s second brand, Laufenn. Hankook Tyre UK will preside over the global launch of these products at this year’s Commercial Vehicle Show, presenting the Laufenn tyres alongside its expanding Hankook commercial vehicle line-up.
Thanks to an extension of the current partnership, Hankook will return in 2020 as official tyre of Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL). As part of the newly-extended contract, the tyre maker will launch what it says will be “one of the biggest consumer promotions ever seen” in the country’s tyre industry; this will run from April to August 2020.
Hankook Tire says it is collaborating with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to further its virtual tyre development work. This involves the tyre maker using the AWS cloud platform to store, process, and analyse huge amounts of data such as that gathered from its recently-introduced Virtual Compound Design (VCD) system, which predicts the characteristics of tyre compounds and finds an optimal combination through artificial intelligence analysis.
For the past four years, Hankook Tire has offered customers in European markets a choice of two tyre brands – its flagship Hankook brand and Laufenn, a range “tailored to different lifestyles and above all meet the needs of price-conscious drivers.” The Laufenn line-up has now been further extended with two new models, the Laufenn S FIT EQ+ for the performance segment, and Laufenn G FIT EQ+ for the touring segment. Both arrive in spring 2020 and replace existing, similarly-named products.
Hankook tyres have been fitted as original equipment on Schmitz Cargobull trailers over the past decade under a growing partnership. The two companies have now extended this partnership for an additional three years. The cooperation, which began in 2013, will thus continue until the end of 2022.
Pirelli holds the distinction of being the only company within the automotive components sector to achieve ‘Gold Class’ in the SAM Sustainability Yearbook 2020. Other tyre makers to gain a ranked position in the Yearbook were Hankook Tire & Technology and Nokian Tyres, which both achieved SAM Bronze Class, and Bridgestone Corporation, which was acknowledged as a Sustainability Yearbook Member.
The sponsorship agreement between Hankook Tire and Real Madrid has been extended until the end of the 2022/23 season. This continued collaboration between tyre maker and Spanish La Liga football club was sealed at a ceremony recently held at Santiago Bernabéu stadium. Florentino Pérez, president of Real Madrid, and Sang Hoon Lee, Hankook Tire’s president in Europe, oversaw proceedings.
Hankook Tire Europe says it is “repositioning itself for the new decade,” and to support this has given Sang Hoon Lee responsibility for its operative business in the Europe and CIS regions. As chief operation officer and president, Lee succeeds Han-Jun Kim as head of Hankook’s European headquarters.
Hankook Tire is aiming for a “double-digit” share of the market in Austria and Switzerland, and to help grow the Hankook brand in both countries it has opened a new branch office in Vienna.
As of mid-January 2020, Soo II Lee will become president of Hankook Tire America Corp. He will serve in this capacity alongside his existing remit of president and chief operating officer of Hankook Tire & Technology, an arrangement that will see him split his time between Hankook’s America headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee and the company’s global headquarters in Seoul, Korea.
Audi has released a performance version of its Q8 SUV coupe, and Hankook Tire says it is supplying original equipment tyres. Specifically, the Audi SQ8 TDI will be available with the Hankook Ventus S1 evo 3 SUV and Winter i*cept evo 2 SUV in sizes 285/45 R21 113 Y XL and V XL. A 22-inch fitment of the summer tyre will follow – The SQ8 will receive the Ventus S1 evo 3 SUV in size 285/40 R22.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency has reported the indictment of Cho Hyun-bum, chief executive of tyre maker Hankook Tire & Technology. According to Yonhap, prosecutors said yesterday that Cho was indicted for accepting bribes and embezzling corporate funds.
Hankook Tire chief executive Cho Hyun-bum was arrested in Seoul on allegations including bribery and embezzlement on Thursday 21 November 2019, according to local news sources including The Korea Times and Reuters.
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