Kumho Tire to make EV push with EnnoV rebrand

Kumho Tire recently introduced EnnoV, the company's newly branded lineup of tires designed specifically for electric vehicles, stepping up its game in the EV tire competition with Hankook Tire & Technology’s iON brand.

The launch took place during the EnnoV Experience Day at the Korea Automobile Testing & Research Institute in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, on March 15.

EnnoV marks a significant rebranding effort by Kumho Tire, consolidating its EV-specific tires, including models such as the Majesty9 SOLUS TA91 EV, under a new, more evocative brand name. The name EnnoV is derived from the words "electric" and "innovation," and is positioned as a premium brand built on Kumho Tire's most advanced technologies.

Kumho Tire and Hankook Tire are now the only two tire makers in the world with a branding strategy solely dedicated to EV tires, unlike merely adding an EV designation to an existing product line.

EV-specific tires are critical, as these vehicles' heavier weights and rapid acceleration require enhanced performance and resistance to wear. Industry forecasts by Precedence Research project the EV tire market to quadruple, from $40 billion in 2021 to an estimated $161.6 billion by 2030.

Kumho Tire has set high expectations for EnnoV following the company's turnaround last year after a long period of underperformance. According to 2022 global tire sales rankings by Tyrepress, a UK-based tire publication, Hankook currently holds sixth place, with Kumho at coming in at fifteenth.

"EnnoV is going all in on EVs. We're already in talks with the biggest EV makers who typically partner with five to eight tire companies, and we plan to be among those top players in the EV tire space," said Kumho Tire CEO Jung Il-taik. Kumho Tire already supplies Majesty9 SOLUS TA91 EV tires to Tesla and Volkswagen.

EnnoV's initial launch is set for Korea this year, aiming for sales of 120,000 to 150,000 units. The company will then expand into international markets, beginning with China. The launch will include three products: EnnoV Premium for all-season use, EnnoV Winter for colder conditions, and EnnoV Supermile for long range, catering to a diverse range of electric vehicles from manufacturers such as Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Audi, Porsche, and BMW.

"We're looking at a 7 percent contribution from EV tires to our sales volume to automakers last year, expecting a jump to 12 or 13 percent this year, and projecting it to hit around 30 or 35 percent by 2027," said Lim Seung-bin, vice president and head of global sales.

"EnnoV will be priced similarly to Hankook's iON offerings,” Lim added.

A notable differentiator highlighted by the company was the high load capacity technology incorporated across its entire product range, which is a first in the industry. This industry standard enables tires to carry 10 to 23 percent more load than standard tires by reinforcing the tires' structure without compromising performance or comfort.

"While we can't share specifics on how EnnoV outperforms competitors like Hankook, I can tell you EnnoV tires have above-average wear resistance according to (European Union) standards," said Cho Man-sik, head of the company’s research and development division.

CEO Jung put a particular emphasis on the company's competitive strategy.

"With EnnoV, we're not just aiming to outdo competitors in the same price range; we're positioning our tires to match or even surpass the performance of higher-end brands like Michelin, without hiking our prices. This isn't about cutting corners on quality to keep prices low. Instead, it's about leveraging our advancements in operational efficiency to deliver top-tier performance at more accessible price points,” said Jung.

To support this goal, Jung revealed plans for constructing a tire production plant in Europe, with Romania, Serbia, Portugal and Turkey being cited as potential locations.

"Initially set to produce 66 million tires, we'll expand production in Europe by 12 million in the long term,” he added.