Hankook Tire supplies tires for BMW X3, X4 M models

Hankook Tire & Technology Co., the world's sixth-largest tiremaker by sales, said Friday it began supplying tires for BMW's high-performance X3 M and X4 M models this year.

Hankook Tire has provided the high-performance Ventus S1 evo Z tires for the performance SUV models since the first half, the company said in a statement.

BMW M is one of the world's three major sports racing brands, along with Mercedes-Benz's AMG and Audi's Renn Sport (RS) brands.

To enhance its global brand image, the tiremaker has provided its OE tire products for 320 kinds of vehicles of nearly 50 foreign carmakers, including Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche.

Supplying OE tires to car manufacturers does not generate much revenue for tiremakers but securing big companies as clients helps improve their brand image and can lead to boosting brand awareness and a rise in product prices down the line.

For tiremakers, it is more profitable to sell replacement equipment tires in after-sales markets.

In 2020, Hankook Tire's net profit fell 10 percent to 385.2 billion won ($337 million) from 429.6 billion won a year earlier amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hankook Tire earns over 80 percent of its total revenue from abroad.

It has eight plants -- two in South Korea, one in Hungary, one in the United States, three in China and one in Indonesia -- whose combined capacity reaches 102 million tires. (Yonhap)