4 things you didn't know about Hankook and its tyres

Have you bought a new car that comes with Hankook tyres? Are you going to change your car’s wheels and this brand has been offered to you? We tell you some things about Hankook that you may not know.

In a very short time, Hankook tyres have begun to be known by users and considered as a purchasing alternative to better-known brands. In fact, it is quite possible that if you buy a new car it will come equipped with Hankook tyres, approved as original equipment by the main manufacturers. In the following video you can see some of the brands and cars that use Hankook tyres.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiOaqHcdI34&feature=youtu.be

The keys to this rise? Hankook’s commitment to sponsoring sports activities and high-level competitions, as well as investments in research and development that have led the brand to have a modern range of products and manufacture more than 100 million tyres a year. Let’s look at some things you may not have known about Hankook and its tyres.

Some figures about Hankook

As a tyre manufacturer, Hankook Tire is a relatively young company that has progressed incredibly in just a few years. The brand was founded in 1941 in Seoul (Korea), and opened its first European subsidiaries in 1985, in Germany and the United Kingdom. Since 2003 they have had their European headquarters in Frankfurt, and in 2007 their European factory was inaugurated in Hungary, where 3,000 employees work.

In 2016 the Hankook Technodome was inaugurated, where all the company’s R&D tasks are centralised. Designed by Norman Foster, it represented an investment of 220 million euros, and by 2020 it will have 1,000 employees. In 2017 the Technotrac winter tyre testing centre was launched in Finland.

Hankook manufactures tyres for passenger cars and trucks. The main brands have Hankook tyres approved as original equipment, currently totalling agreements with 34 brands covering more than 300 vehicles.

These are some of the key figures about Hankook

• 104 million tyres manufactured in 2017
• Presence in more than 180 countries around the world
• 22,000 employees, 4,000 in Europe
• One global headquarters, 3 regional headquarters, 5 R&D centres and 8 factories
• Global sales in 2017 of €5,340 million
• Percentage of sales in Europe: 30%

Hankook and competition: the DTM is the star

For any tyre manufacturer, the experience gained in competition is an excellent test laboratory for developing technologies that are later applied to their road tyres. Moreover, it is a showcase for the public, which associates high-level motorsport with technology, quality, prestige…

At Hankook they were clear about it from the very first moment they committed to the German Touring Car Championship, the DTM. It is not the only competition in which they are official suppliers; they also do so with the TT Sport Cup, the FIA European F3 Championship for single-seaters, the spectacular Formula Drift SuperRace and the Speed Festival held in South Korea.

Hankook with sport: sponsors of Real Madrid

One of Hankook’s strong bets to quickly gain brand awareness has been its commitment to sports sponsorship. And the bet is paying off, as it has partnered with none other than Real Madrid, in an agreement materialised last year. In addition, Hankook is also a sponsor of the UEFA Europa League and of the main baseball leagues.

Precisely as a result of its collaboration with Real Madrid, Hankook has held the Summer Match for the second year, a very special football match in which former players of the white team took part alongside the specialised motoring press. A match we experienced first-hand at Top10motor, taking advantage of the opportunity Hankook gave us to step onto the pitch of the Santiago Bernabéu dressed in Real Madrid colours… and score a goal that will go down in the annals of the editorial team’s history!

Hankook’s current range of passenger car tyres

At present, the Hankook range offers passenger car tyres including different models, both summer and winter tyres. It is possible to find the latest-generation ones still coexisting with the new models, but the most important models are the following:

-Hankook Ventus Prime 3: Summer tyre with a good balance between performance, comfort and safety. Available for 15 to 18-inch rims, with an A rating in almost all sizes for wet grip on the tyre label. Excellent product-to-price ratio.

-Hankook Ventus S1 evo2 and S1 evo2 SUV: For those looking for a high-performance tyre for sports cars and even powerful SUVs. Winners of numerous awards and comparative tests in specialised media. Exclusive original equipment on some models such as the Audi RS 4 Avant.

-Hankook Kinergy eco2: The tyre for those who drive many kilometres a year and prioritise consumption in their small, compact or mid-size saloon cars, thanks to optimised rolling resistance. For rims from 13 to 16 inches.

-Hankook Winter i*cept evo2 and RS 2: Range of winter tyres for conventional passenger cars (the RS 2, with a V-shaped tread pattern and available for 14 to 17-inch rims), and also for high-performance cars (the evo2, with an asymmetric tread and for 16 to 19-inch rims).

-Hankook Kinergy 4S2: the new All Season tyre or all-weather tyre, suitable for all seasons from Hankook, with M+S certification and the three-peak mountain and snowflake symbol, which allows them to be used in summer and also in winter on snow without the need to fit chains.

The tyre of the future according to Hankook

Tyres have changed a lot in recent years in terms of concept, materials, design, performance… but they are still black and round. Will this change one day? It is possible. For now, Hankook leaves us this video with some interesting proposals on what future tyres could look like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZMGeMpsHNY&feature=youtu.be