Hankook Tire is expanding its iON product line for electric vehicles with the introduction of the Hankook iON GT. This range includes the iON GT summer tyre for battery-powered city cars and saloons, and the iON GT SUV for compact SUVs. These new products debuted at The Tire Cologne and will be available from autumn 2024 in sizes for 16- to 20-inch rims.
As reported in March, together with two other South Korean firms, Hankook Tire & Technology has developed the country’s first tyre using cord fibre sourced from chemically recycled PET. This tyre is the Hankook iON evo, the company’s first product to wear the ISCC Plus certification logo.
The Fully Charged Show, in its quest to stop people burning stuff, is bringing Everything Electric North back to Harrogate. The event runs from 24 to 26 May, with Hankook Tire & Technology participating as an official sponsor. The tyre maker will present its electric vehicle (EV) technology and products during the show.
After 16 years, Felix Kinzer is stepping down as Hankook Tire’s Director Corporate Communications Europe and will take on a new role as Senior Director for Public Affairs. Filip Pawelka will succeed Kinzer, directing the newly created Marketing Communications department at Hankook Tire Europe.
Hankook Tire is limbering up to present product innovations at The Tire Cologne this June, where it will display a new addition to its iON range of EV-oriented tyres as well as well as a product designed specifically for electric buses operating in urban areas.
Hankook Tire & Technology shares its latest triumph, being named ‘Winner’ in the Product Design category at the Red Dot Design Award 2024.
Hankook Tire & Technology has disclosed its financial performance for the first quarter of 2024, reporting sales of KRW 2,127.2 billion (£1.2 billion) and an operating profit of KRW 398.7 billion (£230.8 million) based on global consolidated financial results. Year over year, sales saw a modest increase of 1.1 per cent, while operating profit surged by 108.8 per cent.
The list of internal candidates proposed for the Hankook Tire & Technology Board of Directors and approved during the shareholders’ meeting on 28 March 2024 does not include chairman Cho Hyun-bum. Cho withdrew his own proposal for reappointment as an internal director on 25 March 2024.
CDP Carbon Management Sector Honors for Hankook Tire & Technology (Hankook Tire). The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Korea Committee hosted its Climate Change and Water Security Awards on 13 March. Based upon the CDP Climate Change Response Project’s evaluation of more than 23,000 global companies, the Committee acknowledged Hankook Tire within the Consumer Discretionary awards category. The tyre maker achieved an A- rating in the evaluation, one of only 25 Korean companies achieving this distinction.
Together with two other South Korean firms, Hankook Tire & Technology has developed the country’s first tyre using cord fibre sourced from chemically recycled PET. The tyre maker partnered with SK chemicals and Hyosung Advanced Materials to develop Hankook iON tyres containing “circular recycled PET fibre tyre cords.” The resulting product is the first tyre to wear the ISCC Plus certification logo.
With sales of KRW 8,939.6 billion (£5.3 billion) and an operating profit of KRW 1,327.9 billion (£783.5 million), in 2023 Hankook Tire & Technology achieved the “best performance since its establishment.” Sales were up 6.5 per cent year-on-year, while operating profit increased 88.1 per cent. According to Hankook Tire, these results “solidify” the company’s position as a “prominent, top-tier global brand.”
Hankook Tire America Corp. has announced two changes to its management team. Kyuwang (Ken) Cho is the business’s new Vice President of U.S. PC/LT Sales, with overall responsibility for the market. K.C. Jensen takes on the role of Vice President of PC/LT Sales, focusing on Hankook Tire America’s West region as well as other strategic initiatives.
The FIA World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) has convened for its final meeting of 2023, and during this meeting the WMSC approved the WRC Commission’s recommendation to appoint Hankook as the official tyre partner and supplier to the FIA World Rally Championship. Hankook will commence in this role in 2025, initially for three years.
With an investment of KRW 758.95 billion (£466.12 million), Hankook Tire & Technology will add truck and bus radial production to its site in Rácalmás, Hungary. The company expects the new production line to be completed by 2027, with an initial capacity to produce around 800,000 tyres annually. The expansion will create approximately 450 new jobs.
Why survey people when you can draw upon all the wisdom of the internet? Hankook Tire & Technology has turned to artificial intelligence to gain insights into consumer attitudes towards electric vehicles, developing a Voice of Customer (VOC) analysis system based upon ChatGPT for this purpose. The Korean firm collaborated with data cloud computing companies Amazon Web Services and Snowflake to build an integrated VOC data analysis system.
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