With an investment of approximately 290 million euros, Hankook Tire is adding a truck tyre production unit to its factory in Rácalmás, Hungary. Work on this expansion project – the fourth since the plant opened in 2007 – will begin in June, with production expected to commence in June 2020. The truck tyre production unit will have the capacity to make 550,000 tyres a year, and its opening will create around 150 new jobs.
Hankook Tyre UK will present its commercial vehicle tyre portfolio at the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham. The show takes place from 24 to 26 April 2018 at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and the Hankook stand (5C60) will be located in Hall 5. The stand will feature a wide range of tyres including the SmartFlex for regional haul, and the SmartWork for on and off road, both of which are selected as Original Equipment for MAN, Mercedes-Benz and Scania trucks. Furthermore, Hankook will launch a new all-position bus tyre for city traffic.
Consumers are increasingly likely to research their tyres online pre-purchase, regardless of whether they complete an e-commerce transaction. Peer review website Tyre Reviews has therefore become an influential destination in the car tyre market: discussing Tyre Reviews’s audience, owner, Jonathan Benson, states that 94 per cent of Tyre Reviews visitors are engaged in the tyre buying process, with its users predominantly “high earning, well educated, male automotive enthusiasts looking for the best possible product for their vehicle.” In 2017, the site delivered 25 million pageviews to tyre buyers, and claims to have influenced around “one-sixth of UK tyre sales.”
Existing agreements to supply Hankook tyres as original equipment on the Audi TT RS and the RS 5 Coupé have now been followed by an arrangement to supply the Ventus S1 evo² for fitment on the Audi RS 4 Avant. Hankook Tire appears to be supplying tyres for both the Audi’s 265/35 R 19 98Y XL standard fitment as well as the optional size 275/30 R 20 97Y XL. The Ventus S1 evo² tyres homologated for the RS 4 Avant feature Hankook’s ‘sound absorber’ noise reduction technology.
The original equipment supply relationship between Hankook Tire and Swedish commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania has been extended through the approval of the SmartWork truck tyre series. SmartWork is designed for trucks engaged in construction applications, and the original equipment arrangement covers all Scania vehicles designed for use on construction sites, including the new Scania XT generation of construction vehicles.
Hankook has announced the launch of its 2018 Design Innovation project. Held every two years, the Design Innovation project realises the infinite possibilities of a tyre through designing creative and realistic alternatives to driving.
Chinese bus fleet operator Guangzhou Jumbo Bus Co Ltd. intends to convert its entire fleet of LNG-powered buses to electric propulsion over the coming three years, and as it does so will exclusively shod its fleet with Hankook tyres. Jumbo Bus, which operates six city bus companies and a total of 4,500 buses, signed a memorandum of understanding with Hankook Tire this month covering the supply of tyres specifically developed for electric buses.
An agreement signed at Autosport International last week seals Hankook Tire’s status as exclusive original equipment tyre supplier to Peterborough-based sportscar manufacturer Radical. Hankook tyres will be fitted to Radical’s road and racing models, and through the supply partnership Hankook will be represented in various international racing series in which Radical is closely involved.
Following a long career in the tyre industry and after 25 years’ service at Hankook, former sales manager Ian Mayoll will retire from the company on 31 December 2017. Mayoll was the company’s first UK employee and has been instrumental in the growth of Hankook Tyre UK over the past two and a half decades.
In addition to new president and CEO Soo Il Lee, who will serve alongside Hyun Bum Cho as a separate representative of the company from 1 January 2018, Hankook Tire Co. Ltd. has named a new executive vice-president, five senior vice-presidents and 17 vice-presidents. Announcing these appointments, the tyre maker states that it has restructured its organisation to “respond to the global market and customers with more agility.”
The conclusion of this year’s DTM season left fingernails bitten down to the quick. With no less than six potential candidates in the running to claim the touring car series, the question as to who’d finish on top of the drivers’ championship table stayed open right until the chequered flag waved the end of play at the Hockenheimring circuit. In the end, honours went to Audi works driver René Rast, whose second-placed finish on the day pushed his season tally to 179 points, three points ahead of incumbent championship leader and fellow Audi pilot Mattias Ekström and six ahead of British driver Jamie Green, whose hopes of a championship win were dealt a stinging blow the previous day through a ten-place grid penalty for the final race.
Hankook Tyre UK, elite sponsor of the Northampton Saints, collected for the Daventry and Northampton foodbanks earlier this month as the Club took on Newport Gwent Dragons in the second round of the Anglo-Welsh Cup. Hankook and the Saints asked supporters to bring non-perishable items to the game for collection at the Hankook trailer, located in the Supporter Village at Franklin’s Gardens. Hankook also organised a collection at their head office in Daventry, where staff donated Christmas treats for the cause.
Following the season finale at the Hockenheimring in Germany last month, the DTM touring car championship and exclusive tyre partner Hankook are heading for extra time in the land of the rising sun. On 11 and 12 November, the three competing manufacturers, Audi, BMW and Mercedes AMG, will be present at the final of the Super GT series in Motegi/Japan, returning the visit to Hockenheim made by Super GT.
Hankook has increased its courtesy car scheme with the introduction of a larger fleet of stylish own-branded Hyundai i10s, which have been offered to a selection of supportive dealers across its UK retail network.
The inaugural Schmitz Cargobull Supplier Day was recently held as part of the company’s 125-year anniversary celebrations. The trailer manufacturer honoured suppliers in a variety of categories during the event, including Hankook Tire, the only tyre maker to take home a prize. Hankook was honoured with the ‘Strategic Partnership’ award.
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