On Friday, Hankook Tire & Technology Co., announced that it has begun supplying tires for two high-performance BMW models this year. They include the BMW X3 M and X4 M.
Hankook Tire has supplied the Ventus S1 evo Z high-performance tires for the first half of this year. These tires have been specially made for the performance SUV models.
The BMW M is among the three major racing brands in the global sports industry. The other two include Audi’s Renn Sport (RS) brand and Mercedes-Benz’s AMG.
To improve its global brand image, the company has provided OE Hankook tires for 320 types of vehicles from nearly 50 foreign carmakers, including Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi.
Tiremakers do not generate much revenue from supplying OE tires to car manufacturers. Tiremakers make more profit selling replacement equipment tires in after-sales markets. However, having big companies as part of their clientele helps to boost brand image. It helps to increase brand awareness and raise prices in the long run.
In 2020, net profit fell by 10 percent. Hankook Tire generated $337 million which was a drop from $376 million a year earlier. The drop was largely attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Most of the revenue that the company earns comes from abroad. It has eight plants – one in the United States, one in Indonesia, one in Hungary, two in South Korea, and three in China. All of them have a combined capacity of 102 million tires.