Hankook Large Tire Gain
On November 7, 2025, Hankook Tire announced its Q3 2025 operating results, delivering better-than-expected performance. The tire division achieved record revenue and profit, demonstrating its strong competitiveness in the global premium tire market.
Data shows that Q3 sales reached 2.707 trillion won (approximately 13.23 billion RMB), with operating profit reaching 519.2 billion won (approximately 2.544 billion RMB). Despite industry challenges such as fluctuating global raw material prices and supply chain restructuring, the company still achieved steady improvement in profitability, with its core financial indicators performing exceptionally well among the world's top ten tire companies.
Behind this achievement lies Hankook Tire's strategic success in accurately grasping the trends of premiumization and electrification in the automotive industry, and its long-term focus on the two core tracks of large-size tires and new energy vehicle-specific tires, forming a growth model that combines economies of scale with technological premium.
Hankook Tire's long-standing strategy of selling large-size tires achieved a key breakthrough this quarter, with its global sales share of 18-inch and larger tires increasing to 47.4%, a steady rise from 47.2% in the first half of the year, continuing to lead the industry's trend towards larger tires.
Notably, the Chinese market, a strategic stronghold for Hankook, saw large-size tire sales reach 64.9%, nearly two-thirds of the market, demonstrating its deep understanding of Chinese consumer needs.
As the automotive industry upgrades towards high-end models, large-size wheels have become standard equipment on luxury vehicles and mid-to-high-end SUVs. The widespread adoption of new energy vehicles has further driven this trend—the additional weight from battery packs places higher demands on tire load-bearing capacity and stability, making large-size tires the mainstream choice due to their superior contact patch and structural rigidity.
Hankook's deep cultivation in the large-size tire market has not only enhanced its brand premium but also, leveraging the 79% original equipment tire replacement loyalty found in J.D. Power research, has created a positive cycle of "premium original equipment - replacement market," providing continuous momentum for performance growth.
In the field of tires specifically designed for new energy vehicles, Hankook's sales share increased to 27% in the third quarter, marking the deep implementation of its "dual-wheel drive" strategy. The core support for this achievement is the technological breakthrough of Hankook's iON series tires. Since its launch in 2022, this series has successfully overcome the tire industry's "impossible triangle" challenge of "rolling resistance, wear resistance, and grip."
Addressing the characteristics of new energy vehicles—range anxiety, high torque output, and heavier vehicles—the iON series uses a silica-rich compound and uniform vulcanization technology to reduce rolling resistance, improves cornering rigidity by 10% through EV profile technology, and achieves EU Label A-level certification for wet grip through optimized lateral groove design, while also ensuring a low-noise and comfortable experience.
Among them, the iON evo model achieved a rare "hat trick" in the industry with its "triple A EU Label," winning test championships from authoritative magazines such as Auto Bild and WhatTyre, and even winning the iF Design Award, becoming a benchmark product in the market. In terms of supporting collaborations, Hankook continues to expand its partnerships with leading automakers, further solidifying its technological leadership.
Currently, its new energy vehicle (NEV) supply network covers renowned domestic and international brands such as Porsche, BMW, BYD, Xiaomi, Zhiji, and Leapmotor. It has also become the supplier for the L4 autonomous vehicles of the driverless taxi company "Luobo Express," which are used in commercial operations in cities like Wuhan and Shenzhen.
The newly added Xiaomi YU7 model partnership in 2025 is expected to supply over 400,000 tires annually, with a cooperation scale exceeding 500 million RMB. Simultaneously, collaborations with brands such as Lucid (USA) and Kia (South Korea) have further broadened its global NEV supply layout.
Furthermore, Hankook has acquired Hanon Systems, an automotive thermal management system supplier, building a diversified ecosystem of "tires + thermal management" to provide more comprehensive solutions for NEVs.
