A third-place finish at the Hockenheimring in Germany yesterday sufficed for Gary Paffett to clinch his second DTM title. The British driver ended the season with 255 points, four points ahead of last year’s champion René Rast. This year’s victory in the touring car championship comes 13 years after Paffett won his first DTM title.
The range of Hankook tyres for construction site applications has been expanded through the addition of new mixed on/off-road patterns to the SmartWork line. These are the SmartWork AM11 steer axle tyre, DM11 drive axle fitment and TM11 trailer tyre.
Details of Hankook Tire’s sponsorship of Italian football club S.S.C. Napoli were announced during a press conference at the club’s home ground yesterday. Hankook Tire Italia will initially support the Serie A team from the 2018-19 season through to May 2020, and through this aims to expand brand awareness in Italy.
It’s official: Hankook Tire has submitted a tender for Formula 1 tyre supply between 2020 and 2023. In response to questions from within our publishing group, Felix Kinzer, director of corporate communications at Hankook Tire Europe, confirmed that the company submitted an application prior to the 31 August deadline.
Under a new partnership, Hankook Tire has become a sponsor to Association Sportive de Monaco, runner-up in France’s top football league last season. The tyre maker’s partnership with AS Monaco FC will initially cover a two-year period and gives Hankook brand exposure at the club’s home ground, the Louis II stadium in Fontvieille, during Ligue 1 home matches as well as hospitality opportunities.
It boasts ingredients that include vegetable oil and resin extracted from conifer pines, and it may be coming to a tyre shop near you in 2019 – Hankook Tire has introduced its second generation of electric vehicle tyre, the Hankook Kinergy AS EV.
With his win at Brands Hatch last weekend, Paul Di Resta closed the gap with championship leader, fellow Mercedes-Benz driver Garry Paffett, to just 29 points in the overall standings. This was Di Resta’s third win in Brands Hatch and the tenth of his DTM career. Gary Paffett crossed the finish line as runner-up after 40 laps of racing.
Between 2006 and 2013, the DTM touring car series was a regular visitor to the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, and following a four-year hiatus DTM drivers will race there once again this weekend. Instead of using the 1.2-mile Indy circuit favoured in past years, the action in 2018 will take place on the full, 2.4-mile GP circuit.
At KRW 1.67 trillion (£1.14 billion), sales were up 2.3 per cent year-on-year for Hankook Tire in the second quarter of 2018, however this didn’t stop operating profit slipping 10.4 per cent to KRW 183.2 billion (£125.3 million). According to the tyre maker, operating profit was reduced compared with the same period of last year due to initial operating costs in its tyre plant in Tennessee, USA as well as increasing competition in the Korean market. The operating margin decreased from 12.3 per cent to 10.7 per cent.
Groupe Renault has selected Hankook Tire as recipient of its Corporate Social Responsibility award for this year. The tyre maker was one of 12 awardees at this year’s Groupe Renault Supplier Award ceremony to be acknowledged in five sectors – Best Service, Design, Innovation, Purchasing sustainability, and Quality.
Another tyre wholesaler in Germany is now in manufacturer hands. Hankook Tire has announced the 100 per cent equity purchase of independent wholesaler and retailer Reifen Müller. The acquisition gives Hankook Tire ownership of Reifen Müller’s sales distribution affiliate company, Reifen Müller KG, its 44 retail service outlets and the Reifen Müller GmbH & Co. Runderneuerungswerk KG retreading business.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) covering the co-development of synthetic rubber technologies has been signed between Hankook Tire and Arlanxeo. Under the terms of the MoU, the two companies will jointly study and develop new high-performance synthetic rubber grades and applications, with the aim of increasing tyre performance from the early stages of product development.
Hankook Tire has won another original fitment order covering both summer and winter tyres, this time for the current BMW X3. The third-generation X3, which was introduced last year, will be available with the Ventus S1 evo² SUV in size 225/60 R18 104 W XL and with Hankook’s winter i*cept evo² SUV in 225/60 R18 104 H XL.
Back in 1994, a little-known tyre brand called Hankook entered the all-season market in Europe with the Optisuper. A lot has changed for the tyre maker since then, but it is still firmly in the all-season tyre business – and has now introduced its fifth-generation tyre, the Hankook Kinergy 4S².
Look carefully for the superscript – Hankook Tire has unveiled its fifth generation of all-season tyre for Europe. It’s called the Hankook Kinergy 4S², and despite the naming similarities is a completely redeveloped product. The Kinergy 4S² comes to market in June 2018 with a launch range of 17 sizes in the 14- to 17-inch rim diameter bracket. From the second half of the year, the range will be expanded to 64 sizes for 14- to 20-inches.
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