Hankook plans to build a new R&D center with foreign tires and forward-looking technology

In the face of the enormous impact of intelligent, driverless and new energy technologies on the traditional automotive manufacturing industry , accessory parts companies represented by Michelin , Bridgestone and Hankook Tire have all overseen forward-looking technologies.

Recently, Hankook Tire announced to invest 266 billion won (approximately 261 million US dollars) to establish a new central R&D center in South Korea to accelerate the development of tire technology. In the future, Hankook will invest 5% of its operating revenue in technology research and development every year.

With investment in technology, Hankook hopes to increase its global market share from the current 8% to 18% after 10 years. To achieve the above goals, the Chinese market is crucial. Although Hankook has accelerated the layout of the terminal network, it does not seem easy to go beyond Michelin.

Tire technology upgrade

At present, emerging technologies such as new energy and unmanned vehicles are sweeping the traditional automobile manufacturing industry. As a crucial part of the industry chain, tire companies are also seeking change.

"The development of automotive technology combined with IT thinking will allow tire companies to change the development model that was traditionally based on traditional manufacturing, and instead seek innovative development models." Han Zhaotai, president and chief global marketing officer and chief corporate officer Zhao Xianfan believes that The support for innovative development models is undoubtedly a powerful technology and R & D capabilities.

“For example, with the introduction of hybrid vehicles and hydrogen-fueled vehicles, there will be higher requirements for lightweighting, rolling resistance, and energy saving and environmental protection of vehicles and tires.” Park Chung-yeon, senior vice president of Hankook Tire’s Strategy and Finance Department In an interview with a reporter from the "Daily Economic News", he said: "The emergence of driverless technology places higher demands on the feedback and sensing of tires."

In this context, tire companies have increased investment in R&D for innovative technologies.

As early as 2011, Michelin announced an investment of over 100 million euros, and upgraded its Laduux technology center near the headquarters to increase its technological innovation and shorten the time to market for new products. On the research and development level of new products, Michelin was the first to introduce a non-inflatable green tire as early as 2005, and Bridgestone also released a new tire inflated in 2011.

On June 10, Hankook officially laid the foundation for a new central R&D center in South Korea. It is understood that this new research and development center with an investment of approximately US$261 million will be completed in 2016, and will mainly undertake the research and development of forward-looking technologies such as green environmental protection in the future.

With the completion of the new R&D center, the local R&D team of Hankook will also expand from the current 700 people to 1,000 people.

Increase sales of high-performance tires

According to Hankook's plan, it hopes to increase its global market share from the current 8% to 18% in the next ten years. To achieve the above goals, Hankook will be held in an emerging market represented by China.

Different from the developed countries in Europe and the United States, the domestic automobile market consumption is mainly concentrated in the economic market of 1.6L and below. The demand for tires is more inclined to mid-range products. Relevant person in charge of Hankook stated that from the perspective of market share, although Hantai currently has a global market share of only about 8%, which is lower than that of tyre industry giants such as Michelin and Bridgestone, according to data provided by Hankook, its The share of the Chinese market (supporting after-sales) has been increasing year by year. It has now reached about 25%, surpassing Michelin. In the matching market, Hankook's market share has reached about 20%, ranking first.

"In the future, we will continue to increase our share in the supporting market. We will not only strengthen our cooperation with our joint ventures in China, but will also expand our cooperation with local brands." said Bian Bingyi, vice president of global OE support for Hankook Tire. It is understood that currently, among the 22 automakers that Hankook is supporting in China, only 8 are occupied by local Chinese brands.