Hankook Tire, new official technical partner and tyre supplier of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and title sponsor of the current season’s opening race, says it is “prepared and ready” for its engagement in the all-electric race series. The Hankook Mexico City E-Prix takes place on 14 January and is the first of eleven race weekends around the world this year that will host a total of 16 races.
It has supplied original equipment tyres to the US version of the Nissan X-Trail for more than a decade, and now Hankook Tire is additionally equipping this model in international markets. The SUV will wear Hankook Ventus S1 evo3 tyres in size 235/55R 19V.
According to the recent Hankook Tire Gauge Index, a survey of Americans’ driving habits, 46 per cent of Americans plan to purchase or lease an electric vehicle (EV) within the next five years. Therefore, the arrival of Hankook’s EV-specific iON brand across the pond is timely. Catering to local preferences, the Hankook iON range for the USA has a strong all-season flavour, and the tyre maker has introduced two lines – the iON evo AS and iON evo AS SUV.
Hankook will commence its role as the new official technical partner and tyre supplier of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in 2023. The manufacturer, which is taking over from the original tyre supplier to the championship, Michelin, will further underline its commitment to the series with title sponsorship of three rounds in 2023, including the season finale in London. Hankook has invested heavily in the marketing of its new line of tyres for electric vehicles in 2022, the iON series. The manufacturer will supply the iON Race to Formula E, having tested the tyre in Valencia in December.
Hankook Tire Europe’s intensive expansion of its original equipment truck tyres business over the last half-decade hit significant headwinds at the end of 2021. As a result, the manufacturer made the decision to largely discontinue corresponding deliveries at the start of 2022. Speaking to Tyres & Accessories’ sister magazine in Germany, Neue Reifenzeitung (NRZ), representatives from Hankook’s European headquarters in Neu-Isenburg were clear that the company had not withdrawn from original equipment, but that there has been an interruption, which will be followed by a “restart” in the next two years. This raises the question of how this strategic decision will be received in a shrinking market, while many in the aftermarket are wondering why such a drastic move was necessary in the first place.
Prosecutors raided the offices of Hankook Tire & Technology Co. on 24 November as part of an investigation into alleged “unfair intra-affiliate trading”. According to the South Korean Yonhap news agency, investigators from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office seized documents from “the headquarters and offices of its affiliates in connection with suspicions of unfair business practices among the group’s affiliates”. Yonhap also reported that prosecutors specifically searched the office of Cho Hyun-bum, the chairman of Hankook Tire.
The public launch of the new Hankook iON race will take place at the Essen Motor Show early next month, ahead of the tyre’s competitive debut at the Mexico City E-Prix on 14 January 2023. Hankook Tire is an exclusive technical partner and tyre supplier to Formula E and has developed a tyre specifically for the series that contains around 30 per cent sustainable materials.
Hankook has continued the expansion of its original equipment portfolio for electric vehicles (EV). The manufacturer will supply the electric Škoda Enyaq iV with Ventus S1 evo 3 ev tyres specially developed for electric cars. The partnership follows Hankook’s existing OE deal with the Volkswagen Group to supply the same tyres to the Volkswagen ID.4. Depending on the model variant of Škoda’s first electric SUV, sizes 18 to 20 inches are available. Hankook joins Bridgestone in supplying the Enyaq iV, with the latter offering its Enliten Technology enabled Turanza Eco, Tyrepress sister site WhatTyre’s Eco Tyre of the Year 2022.
Earlier this year Hankook introduced its iON range of electric vehicle (EV) tyres to the world. Here, the global tyre maker gives us a unique insight into the company’s ground-breaking range.
Hankook’s Tyre Manufacturer of the Year winning entry at the NTDA Tyre Industry Awards “demonstrated, in great detail, its growing marketplace leadership in product, performance, innovation, productivity and sustainability,” according to NTDA chief executive Stefan Hay. The award was presented to Hankook Tyre UK’s sales director Paul Emery and marketing & communications manager Zoë Baldwin. Emery said: “We are a relatively small team at Hankook and are extremely proud that the UK tyre industry has recognised the strength of the Hankook business. This is truly a team effort and a team award.”
11 years ago, we published our analysis of the impact of social media and price comparison on the tyre business. Back then in July 2011, Facebook was the number one social network, with 750 million users, of which a third accessed the site via mobile devices. As of July 2022, Facebook has 2.934 billion.
Last week, a subsidiary of tyre maker Hankook & Company Group (formerly Hankook Tire Group) became the first Korean prototype company to be listed on the KOSDAQ technology index. Model Solution joined the index with a final issue price of KRW 27,000 (£16.71), which was at the upper end of the announced price range.
In its own words, Research Tools, based in based Esslingen am Neckar near Stuttgart, specializes in marketing analysis/market research. The company recently examined the performance of 100 tyre brands on the leading social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube in cooperation with VICO Research & Consulting. The study covers the period from 2 June 2021 to 1 June 2022.
Hankook Tire correctly observes that a cross-industry collaboration between a tyre company and fashion brand “piques curiosity” as these businesses “seem to have less or no connection at all.” But a lack of relatedness hasn’t stopped such an unlikely pairing from becoming reality: Hankook is launching apparel in collaboration with South Korean fashion company Handsome.
Hankook & Company Co., Ltd., the holding company of Hankook Tire & Technology Co., Ltd., has established a new subsidiary company under its Energy Solution (ES) Business Headquarters: Hankook & Company ES Deutschland, based in Frankfurt, aims to expand the company’s automotive battery business in the European market. The new batteries of the brand (formerly Hankook Atlas BX) were first shown in September at Automechanika, Europe’s largest car parts trade fair.
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