The existing partnership between Hankook Tire and German touring car championship DTM has been extended for a further three years. The tyre maker signed a new contract with DTM promoter ITR e.V. last Friday following the press conference held for the opening of the current season; under the terms of this contract, Hankook will continue to deliver its Ventus Race DTM tyres to Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz until the end of the 2019 season.
Hankook Tire has reported its first quarter 2016 financial results, and these show a 9.4 per cent year-on-year rise in consolidated sales; these amounted to KRW 1.6 trillion (£975.4 million) in the three months to 31 March 2016. Operating profit rose 23.6 per cent to KRW 251.1 billion (£150.3 million).
The choice of Hungary, home of its European manufacturing base, as the location for this month’s ‘Ventus Experience’ media event underlines Hankook Tire’s growing focus on original equipment supply within the region. In addition to introducing the Ventus Prime³ comfort tyre, during the event Hankook Tire showed the fruits of recent investment in its factory in Rácalmás, and shared how the facility is helping it meet the requirements of European vehicle manufacturers.
According to Hankook Tire, one aim of its second tyre brand, Laufenn, is to meet “various lifestyle needs for price conscious motorists across the European region.” The initial Laufenn range for Europe was presented at the IAA motor show in Frankfurt, Germany last September, and three of the five product lines displayed, the Laufenn S FIT EQ, G FIT EQ and X FIT VAN, are now being released in the European market.
Later this year, Hankook Tire’s North American headquarters will relocate from New Jersey to Nashville, Tennessee. Hankook Tire America Corp announced that an investment of approximately US$5 million will go into setting up its new headquarters there, adding that the project will create up to 200 jobs in the local area.
Millbrook Group, the owner of winter and tyre testing specialists, Test World, hosted a series of high-profile visits by key VIPs in the region, including the Finnish Prime Minister, Juha Sipilä, and the US Ambassador to Finland, Charles C. Adams. The news follows Test World’s relatively recent signing of a contract with Hankook to build a winter tyre testing centre in Ivalo for Hankook’s exclusive use.
The results of a number of comparative tyre tests have been published in various magazines during the last month or so, including in several Auto Bild titles. Hankook Tire has commented on the victory of its Ventus Prime³ in Auto Bild’s annual test of 50 size 205/55R16V summer tyres, and on the second place attained by the Hankook Ventus S1 evo² in the 20-inch (255/35R20 front and 295/30R20 rear) tyre test published in Auto Bild Sportscars.
This year the Birmingham-based Commercial Vehicle Show takes place from 26 to 28 April, and Hankook Tyre UK has provided details of the products it will present at its stand (5C60) at the NEC.
In the introduction to its 2016 summer tyre test, Auto Bild comments that the range of tyres on offer has never been as large as it is today, and this abundance of choice can be overwhelming for drivers. The publication wishes to “shed light” on the current crop of tyres on the market, and thus assigned its testers the task of evaluating no less than 50 size 205/55 R16V tyres for compact cars.
Hankook will supply runflat versions of its ultra-high performance and winter car tyres to BMW for original fitment on its new generation 7 Series. The luxury car will roll on the Ventus S1 evo2 in mixed 245/50R18 Y *RSC (Runflat Safety Component) (front) and 275/40 R19 Y*RSC (rear) sizes in summer, and the i*cept evo in size 245/50R 18 H *RSC for winter use. Both tyres were developed in the Hankook’s German-based European R&D Centre, and are supplied to BMW directly from Hankook’s European high-end factory in Hungary.
Hankook is now the exclusive tyre partner to the Campionato Italiano Turismo (Italian Touring Car Championship). The tyre maker says its partnership with the brand new championship takes effect immediately and will be maintained for the “next couple of years.” The 2016 Campionato Italiano Turismo season commences in Monza on 22 May and incorporates seven race weekends. All of the 2.0 litre, 4 cylinder turbocharged saloons racing in the series will compete on Hankook Ventus Race tyres in size 260/660 R 18.
Hankook Tire has extended its UEFA Europa League sponsorship by taking on patronage of the Europa League’s ‘Centre Circle Carrier’ pre-match ceremony. From the Round of 16 to the semi-finals, the company will provide children living in the participating clubs’ local areas the opportunity to take part in the centre circle flag-carrying ceremony held prior to kick-off.
A Jaguar F-Type, half a dozen 20-inch tyre models, and nothing much to complain about – these are the key ingredients in the latest tyre test from Auto Bild Sportscars. The German magazine’s test of premium and quality segment tyres focused on the front axle size 255/35 and rear 295/30 size. All of the six tested brands carried the ‘Y’ speed rating.
On 1 March 2016 around 100 Chinese Hankook tyre workers protested against the decision to move to a three-shift rather than a four-shift working pattern. However while some sources described this as strike action, Hankook representatives denied these claims and said production has not been affected.
A successor to Hankook’s Ventus Prime² has been launched in readiness for the European summer. No prizes will be awarded for guessing what the new tyre is called – Hankook has chosen to carry over the successful Ventus Prime name into the range’s third generation. Tyrepress.com will cover this new flagship comfort tyre in detail following a hands-on launch event early next month, however what we can tell you now is that Hankook claims the Ventus Prime³ delivers approximately eight per cent better wet braking and three per cent greater dry braking performance over the predecessor tyre, along with nine per cent more wear resistance.
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