Red Dot Design Award for upcoming electric bus tyre
Hankook Tire & Technology shares its latest triumph, being named ‘Winner’ in the Product Design category at the Red Dot Design Award 2024.
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Max McRae wins on FIA Junior ERC debut on Hankook rally tyres
Britain’s Max McRae won the opening round of this season’s FIA Junior ERC in Hungary on 12-14 April. Up until the fifth special stage, Estonian Jasper Vahar held the lead in a Ford Fiesta Rally4, but McRae used the strong performance of the Hankook tyre to make up a lot of time and take the lead on SS6.
Hankook kicks off Nürburgring season as RCN tyre partner
Hankook-supported Circuit Challenge Nürburgring (RCN) kicked off the 2024 season on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife on 13 April. Around 160 cars running on the grippy Hankook Ventus Race UUHP track tyre competed at the event, including former German football international Max Kruse.
Hankook Tire – operating profit up 109% in Q1 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.
Hankook sponsoring UK truck shows
Visitors to three trucking events taking place in the UK this summer will have the opportunity to get better acquainted with the Hankook and Laufenn truck tyre ranges. In addition to continuing its support of the Devon and Cornwall shows, as of this year Hankook Tyre UK has announced its sponsorship of the Best of the Best event.
One retirement, two appointments at Hankook Tyre UK
Mark Eatwell has succeeded Chris Baxter as Technical Services Manager at Hankook Tyre UK. Baxter retired on 31 January, bringing a 43-year career within the tyre industry to a close. The company has also appointed Mark Hutchinson its PCR Regional Sales Manager for the Midlands.
R&D, TIP and Alphatread amongst Hankook’s sustainability and retreading achievements
Hankook reports that it “is committed to investing in sustainability across every aspect of a tyre’s life from sourcing sustainable raw materials to R&D focus on materials, product performance and new product developments”. When you add in the production Alphatread-branded retreaded tyres, you can see how Hankook has attained a number of sustainability achievements.
Hankook’s comprehensive car tyre range demonstrates cross-segment strength
Hankook’s comprehensive range of summer, all-season and winter car tyres has received excellent reviews from testers and tyre review platforms over the past year. This acclaim extends to the iON tyre family specially developed to meet the demanding requirements of electric vehicles. The core summer collection comprises Ventus S1 evo Z, Ventus S1 evo 3, Ventus S1 evo 3 SUV, Ventus Prime 4, Kinergy ECO 2, iON evo and iON ST AS both for cars and SUVs. The all-season range includes, the Kinergy 4S2, Kinergy 4S2 X for SUV’s and the iON FlexClimate for cars and SUVs. The core winter collection comprises the Winter i*cept evo 3, Winter i*cept evo 3 X, Winter i*cept RS 3 and the iON i*cept for cars and SUVs.
Cho heading Hankook’s PC/LT sales in North America
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.
Formula E: Hankook predicts faster lap times in second season
Hankook enters its second season supporting Formula E, and the tenth of the all-electric single-seater series, with the season opener at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City on 12-13 January. The grid of 22 drivers will all compete using the Hankook iON Race tyre. Manfred Sandbichler, Hankook director motorsport, promised the tyre supplier was prepared for faster lap times as teams push the iON Race harder in its second season.
Hankook takeover bid fails
Christmas is a time of togetherness with kinsfolk, but not if you’re a member of Hankook’s Cho family. On December 25, efforts by private equity firm MBK Partners – in collaboration with three Cho siblings – to acquire a controlling stake in Hankook & Company failed after MBK’s tender offer secured insufficient subscriptions.
MBK Partners ups Hankook bid
MBK Partners, a private equity firm in Asia, has increased its offer to buy a controlling stake in Hankook & Company, the parent company of Hankook Tire & Technology Ltd. On 17 December, MBK Partners raised its offer to acquire a minimum of 20.35 per cent and a maximum of 27.32 per cent of Hankook & Company by 20 per cent. The revised price now stands at 24,000 won ($18.40) per share, up from the initial offer of 20,000 won. The price is 51.4 per cent higher than the firm’s closing price of 15,850 won on Friday.
Bridgestone ‘delighted’ with upcoming Formula E tyre supply
Elaborating upon the FIA announcement that Bridgestone will take over from Hankook as the sole tyre supplier of the Formula E World Championship from the 2026-2027 season, Bridgestone emphasises that the all-electric race series will become “a cornerstone of the company’s sustainable global motorsports strategy.” Furthermore, it intends to use supply arrangements such as this to “continue to develop and refine sustainable technology” and to “accelerate innovation” that delivers value throughout the entire tyre lifecycle.
Formula E Gen4 to run on Bridgestone tyres
Bridgestone will return to a FIA World Championship for the first time in a decade-and-a-half when it begins delivering tyres to Formula E in 2026/27. The FIA has announced that Bridgestone will serve as tyre supplier to its Gen4 cars, which will debut in Season 13 of the championship. The Japanese tyre maker will follow on from Hankook, which began supplying Formula E in 2023 after accepting the baton from Michelin.
Hankook WRC tyre supplier from 2025
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.
