As of this season, Hankook Tire is exclusive tyre partner of the FIA Junior European Rally Championship, a series for highly-talented young rally drivers held as part of the FIA European Rally Championship. All cars in the Rally4 category will compete on Hankook Ventus Z215 and Dynapro R211 tyres.
The FIA European Rally Championship (ERC) will include four tyre manufacturers in 2023, following the announcement that Hankook is producing a tyre range homologated for the series. The ERC sees the addition of Hankook tyres alongside those from Michelin, MRF and Pirelli as a move that “reinforces the strength” of the championship.
Hankook Tire & Technology has become a KRW 3 billion (£1.9 million) pre-Series A investor in South Korean used car e-commerce platform ‘Carmerce’. The tyre maker and start-up signed an investment contract at Hankook & Company’s headquarters on 28 February.
The VW camper is back in electric form as the ID. Buzz, and Hankook Tire says it is supplying tyres for models delivered with optional high-spec wheels. Volkswagen has also approved Hankook tyres as original equipment in the standard size worn by the ID. Buzz Cargo.
On 13 January, Huai’an Customs issued an administrative penalty decision to Jiangsu Hankook Tire Co., Ltd. The subject of the penalty involved 271,000 yuan (approximately £32,500, €36,900) in tax underpayment. The penalty document issued by Huai’an Customs shows that Jiangsu Hankook failed to truthfully declare the price of bonded materials during the process of declaring to the customs.
Master Class of Racing (MCoR) is a new and – according to its promoter – “industry-changing” race series in the USA. The stated main goal of MCoR is to “offer sprint racing and a fantastic short format endurance racing at a cost that makes sense for teams and more critically, the drivers.” All of these drivers will compete on Hankook tyres.
Announcing its 2022 financial results, Hankook Tire & Technology (Hankook Tire) shares that its consolidated global sales reached an “all time high” last year. Sales increased 17.5% to KRW 8,394.2 billion (£5.6 billion, $6.9 billion). Operating profit rose 9.9% YoY, to KRW 705.7 billion (£468.2 million, $576.7 million).
Hankook Tyre UK has announced the winner of its latest promotional competition. Mr. Tyre customer Vincent Square won the top prize of a top-of-the-range Hyundai Ioniq 5 after purchasing Hankook Kinergy Eco 2 tyres from the retailer’s Langley Mill depot. The competition was open to purchasers of two or more Hankook car, SUV or 4×4 tyres from Hankook approved dealers, with daily prizes of £100 in Love2Shop gift vouchers also available during the promotional period.
The first entirely electric Škoda to wear the brand’s go-fast vRS badge arrives in UK showrooms this week. This is of course the Škoda Enyaq Coupé iV vRS, a 299PS EV capable of completing the 0-62mph sprint in just 6.5 seconds and achieving a top speed of 111mph. Enyaq Coupé iV vRS models are equipped with black 20-inch Taurus wheels as standard or optional 21-inch Vision wheels with an anthracite finish. Original equipment tyres come courtesy of Bridgestone, Hankook or Pirelli.
Hankook Tire is set to reduce costs and wastage in its production facilities thanks to a research collaboration with Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and HM3DP, a 3D printing start-up. Working with these partners, Hankook has developed ‘Damaged Parts Restoration 3D Printing Technology’, which it will use to restore titanium alloy blades that are damaged while cutting tyre rubber during the production process.
If asked which tyres are worn by cars competing in Lamborghini Super Trofeo races, you may be tempted to name an Italian brand starting with ‘P’ – but you’d be wrong. As of the 2023 season, Hankook Tire is now official technical partner and exclusive tyre supplier to all three series of the one-make cup. It has also developed a new, high-performance race tyre for this engagement, the Hankook Ventus Race, a product specifically tailored to the Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo2 racing car.
The bZ4X is the first model in Toyota’s beyond Zero range of all-electric vehicles, and the crossover SUV is now being sold in global markets. The UK-spec car is available with 18- or 20-inch rims as standard, and Toyota has selected Bridgestone as original equipment supplier for both. The entry-level Toyota bZ4X Pure and mid-range bZ4X Motion are equipped with Bridgestone Alenza 001 tyres in 235/60 R18 103 H, while the top-of-the-range bZ4X Vision wears 235/50 R20 104 V XL.
Rob Williams is heading Hankook Tire’s business in North America as the new President of Hankook Tire America Corp. His colleague Jong Jin (JJ) Park has been promoted to the role of Vice-President of USA PC/LT Sales, while Intae (Ted) Choi has become Vice President of North American Marketing Strategy, and Byoungjoe (Joe) Park has been named Vice President of Corporate Management.
The European Commission has provisionally recalculated anti-Chinese-produced truck tyre import tariffs to between €21.12 and €61.76 per tyre, equating to a reduction of between 0 and 51 per cent, depending on the manufacturer. Consultation on the provisional recalculation is now open until 23 January, before the final determination will be made on 25 January 2023.
Mono Mars is, I am told, a virtual influencer inspired by Mars exploration rovers. His quest to go to Mars has helped Mono Mars gain more than 115,000 followers, and Hankook Tire has now joined up with this Red Planet-obsessed robot to reach out to motorsports fans as part of its Formula E partnership.
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S. Hermann & F. Richter; Pixabay