German football club Borussia Dortmund (BVB) and Hankook Tire have extended their ‘champion partner’ contract until 2018. The partners’ continued collaboration was announced following BVB’s first home game of the season on 15 August.
The new official Hankook Tire Facebook page for the UK market went live today. Hankook says it specifically designed the https://www.facebook.com/HankookUK page to “raise the brand’s profile by engaging with fans and sharing company news relevant to the local market” and says it will present exclusive video content, the latest product and industry news as well as competitions and tips and hints from tyre experts.
Hankook Tire reports that several concept tyres it developed in collaboration with Germany’s Pforzheim University have landed 2015 Red Dot Design Award and 2015 IDEA (International Design Excellence Award) honours.
Four Hankook tyre patterns will be shipped to Ford in North America as original equipment fitments for the new 2016 F-650 and F-750 medium duty trucks. The tyre maker will supply its AH11 and DH07 patterns in sizes 245/70R19.5 and 265/70R19.5, while the AH22 and DH15 will be available in size 275/80R22.5.
Hankook Tire says increasing global competition, slow market growth in China and Korea and exchange rate fluctuations contributed to a year-on-year decline in operating profit in the second quarter of 2015. While sales revenue was only slightly down on a year earlier, falling 2.5 per cent to KRW 1.62 trillion (£886.4 million), operating profit dropped 20.0 per cent year-on-year in the April to June reporting period to KRW 201.1 billion (£110.0 million). Net profit figures were not reported.
Newly-launched Australian rallycross series Sidchrome Extreme Rallycross has selected Hankook Tire as exclusive tyre partner for the next three years. The first event in the inaugural seven-round series takes place in Brisbane on 4 and 5 September, and all three race classes will run on 17-inch Hankook Ventus rally tyres.
Hankook Tire Europe appointed Antal Takacs as marketing director on 1 July 2015. In his new role, Takacs takes responsibility for European pricing, product marketing and distribution channel management.
Antal Takacs will focus on the further development of a pan-European pricing strategy and the reinforcement of Hankook’s Europe-wide marketing strategy. “Our current aim, is to optimise our pan-European marketing strategy, so that we meet our clients’ needs professionally and strengthen the brand awareness in all over Europe”, Hankook’s Head of Europe, Ho Youl Pae stated.
Hankook Tire has reported the successful high speed testing of its iFlex non-pneumatic tyre. The South Korean company has been developing the iFlex concept since 2011, and recently fitted its latest generation prototype tyre to a Kia Ray electric car in order to evaluate its performance at speed. The iFlex-shod Ray was driven through a slalom course at up to 130 km/h (80mph), and the tyre maker states that its airless tyre performed perfectly in all safety and durability tests.
A new “snow specialist” has been added to the Hankook truck tyre portfolio. The SmartControl DW07 drive axle winter tyre has been released in three key sizes – 315/80 R22.5, 315/70 R22.5 and 295/80 R22.5 – and Hankook Tire is preparing to expand the range with additional sizes.
Hankook has announced that its sponsorship contract with the UEFA Europa League will continue for another three years. The tyre manufacturer will be an official partner to the prestigious club competition until the end of the 2017/18 season, having started in 2012. Explaining the latest contract extension, Hankook stated that sport sponsorship activities are an integral part of the company’s marketing strategy in the region. It claims this strategy has contributed to 13 and 6 per cent increases in consumers’ awareness of and references to the brand respectively in the European market. Many of the tyre industry’s biggest brands have capitalised on the huge global popularity of the beautiful game.
Supply of Hankook tyres to Mercedes-Benz Trucks in Europe began in summer 2014, and the tyre maker has now expanded its original equipment portfolio with the vehicle manufacture. Hankook Tire has announced it will provide six sizes of tyre to the new Mercedes-Benz Actros.
In a few hours the UEFA Europa League Final will begin in Warsaw, and sponsor Hankook Tire is ready and waiting. The tyre maker has set up numerous fan events around the city and at Stadion Narodowy. In Castle Square, within Warsaw Old Town, Hankook has constructed a 130 square metre brand area in which it is showcasing its tyres and simultaneously offering many football-related activities, such as target shooting, face painting, and fan photography to the visitors. Products are also being displayed outside the national stadium, while a giant inflatable Hankook tyre has been set up at the entrance.
Hankook has launched a new all-season tyre, the Kinergy 4S (4S stands for “Four Seasons”). The manufacturer says the new tyre is distinguished by harmonious performance features across all seasons, making it an attractive alternative when it comes to ensuring legally compliant year-round mobility. The tyre can be used all year round even in countries with seasonal winter tyre requirements, as it bears the M+S and snowflake symbols (which will be required for winter tyres in Europe, as elsewhere, starting in 2018). All-season tyres have generated plenty of interest from tyre manufacturers recently, with rising sales in the segment indicating great potential for these products in markets with less extreme temperatures.
At the start of 2015 we examined the wider car tyre segment as part of Tyres & Accessories February’s “Passenger Car Tyre” feature. In short, we examined the spectrum of figures offered for the size of UK demand and found that most sources settle between 31 and 38 million units a year. Interestingly, some of the latest data points to the market being at the higher end of the spectrum – something that has not been very widely or openly acknowledged in the past.
Hankook is set to give its latest generation of all-season passenger car- and SUV- tyres their world premiere during the course of Autopromotec next week. In addition Hankook reports that it is showing its new original equipment tyre for the Porsche Macan as well as a sneak preview of its “next generation Hankook brand premium winter tyres for passenger cars”.
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