Hankook to supply OE tyres for Toyota
Euro-designed Toyota iQ will soon be riding around on HankooksIt seemed like a news story much like any other. Original Equipment tyre company issues a press release to the effect it has just landed a huge contract with a well known car manufacturer.
This one is a little different however; the supplier is Hankook, a Korean company, and the auto manufacturer is Toyota, a Japanese company. Japanese cars have traditionally come from the factory fitted with Japanese-sourced tyres, but the automotive realpolitik of the post-GFC period makes for strange bedfellows.
"Toyota's pursuit of high-end vehicles is widely-known so we are extremely thrilled to finally support iQ as original equipment manufacturer," the press release quoted vice president of Hankook's Global OE Division, Woo Byung-Il.
"I am positive that our common ground in quality will accelerate a stronger partnership and synergy between the two companies."
The iQ has been well received in Europe for its mix of packaging and dynamics. It's one Toyota we don't see in Australia, yet Aussie journalists do harangue the car company's local management for news of a launch date here for the car.
So there are some interesting conclusions to be drawn from the Hankook and Toyota tie-up. Hankook is deemed by Toyota to be up to the task of supplying not just original equipment tyres, but specifically tyres for a model of car that reputedly corners tidily. And just as importantly, Hankook seems to be able to supply the right tyres for the right price — against highly-regarded Japanese competition. And there's more to read between the lines also. By sending OE business offshore, is Toyota futureproofing itself against natural disasters such as the tsunami and earthquak that hit the north of Japan in March? Is the Yen now too strong against European currencies — not least of all the Euro?
Hankook aims to be the world's fifth-largest tyre-maker by 2015 and is already supplying OE tyres to the likes of BMW (MINI), General Motors, Volkswagen, Renault-Nissan and Hyundai. Toyota on board can only help.
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