During a visit to the snows of Northern Sweden, Kumho Tire showed off its latest winter range and confirmed its sales and marketing strategies for 2025. Il-taik Jung, President and Chief Executive Officer of Kumho Tire, was present and told customers attending from throughout the region that the company will “work relentlessly” this year to enhance its brand value in the European market.
Two new ultra-high-performance products have joined the Kumho Ecsta line-up in European markets. Ecsta Sport and Ecsta Sport S build on the strengths of predecessor models the Ecsta PS91 and PS71, with the Sport S sitting a rung higher on the performance ladder. Kumho bills this as a “super sport tyre.”
Korean tyre manufacturer Kumho Tire has entered into a three-year strategic partnership with German football club Eintracht Frankfurt. This collaboration aims to bolster Kumho Tire’s visibility and brand image, encompassing advertising within the stadium, hospitality packages, and collaborative social media initiatives. In addition to supporting the men’s team, Kumho Tire will also back the Esports team, with joint campaigns planned alongside EintrachtTech.
Kumho Tire and synthetic rubber manufacturer Synthos have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the joint development of sustainable tyre raw materials. Under the MOU, the two companies will conduct a joint research and development project for Neodymium-Butadiene rubber using Bio-Butadiene and expand the use of environmentally friendly synthetic rubber in tyre manufacturing.
Kumho Tire is ranked among the top 12 per cent of the automotive parts industry in Morgan Stanley Capital International’s (MSCI) recent environmental, social, and governance (ESG) evaluation. The tyre maker has improved its evaluation score has been steadily rising year-on-year, having received a BBB grade in 2019, an A grade in 2021, and an AA grade this year.
Kumho Tire has shared further details of the planned production capacity increase at its facility in Vietnam, as well as news of an associated project in the USA. The tyre maker says the US$305 million investment will double capacity at the Binh Duong Province site by 2023. This means that annual output should reach at least 9.3 million tyres per annum by that time. As previously stated, the project will commence in the third quarter of this year and run until the early part of 2023.
Il Taik Jung has been appointed Kumho Tire president and CEO. Jung joined the company in 1988 having previously held several senior positions. These include head of both the R&D Centre and Quality Division. Kumho states that these experiences are among the strengths that have led to his latest promotion. Jung is tasked with promoting an agile organisation culture that can quickly react to changing tyre markets and consumer needs at Kumho, the company states. Jung says that “R&D technology is the means by which future responsiveness in a competitive environment is best developed.”
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