Hankook expands presence in truck tire market

Hankook Tire intends to ensure balanced growth through the expansion of its presence in the truck tire market, writes Korea Times, citing company representatives. 

According to Hankook, the Korean brand already has a good position in the passenger car and SUV tire sector, but truck/bus tires (TBR) are also becoming one of the main growth areas, and the company supplies tires to several leading global automakers in this segment, for example. 

Currently, TBR tires account for more than half of Hankook's sales in Europe and North America. In 2023, Europe's share of Hankook's tire sales in this category was 28%, and the share of the North American market was 39%. 

Hankook notes that since there are fewer trucks than passenger cars, tires for such transport also attract less attention, however, this direction "plays an important role in ensuring the company's sustainable growth on a larger scale".

At the moment, Hankook is increasing the production of truck tires in response to growing demand by expanding its plants in Hungary and the USA, and is also "taking measures to reduce the risks associated with potential political problems, such as the growth of protectionism".

"The goal of our strategy is to minimize the impact of external factors, such as new tariffs and regulations introduced as a result of protectionism in the US and Europe," the company notes. "We are also continuing to strengthen the competitiveness of our brand in the global market through the expansion of production capacity and the expansion of the distributor network around the world".

In the US, the company is currently expanding its plant in Clarksville (Tennessee), where the production of truck tires with a capacity of 1 million units per year will be launched. The project should be completed by the end of 2025. The Hankook plant in Hungary will also be able to produce 1 million truck tires per year by 2027.