Hankook Tire & Technology Co. Ltd. achieved increases in both revenue and operating profit during the first quarter of 2025.
The Seoul, South Korea-based company’s first quarter 2025 sales totaled slightly more than $3.4 billion and its 1Q 2025 operating profit amounted to around $249 million. Those numbers include results from Hankook’s tire division and its thermal management business.
The company’s 1Q 2025 tire sales totaled $1.6 billion, up from $1.1 billion recorded during the first quarter of 2024.
Commenting on the global market, Hankook officials said that original equipment (OE) PLT tire demand declined, with the exception of China, due to “geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties,” while replacement PLT tire demand “remained solid in Europe, with clear regional variations.”
TBR tire OE demand during the first three months of 2025 “contracted amid inflation and recession concerns.” In the replacement channel, TBR tire demand remained “stable” in western Europe and declined “slightly” in both North America and eastern Europe.
North America
Hankook officials say the North American replacement tire market continues to sustain “ongoing pressure from intensified competition,” leading to sales declines for Hankook in both the OE and replacement channels.
The company continues to “monitor market conditions” and is “preparing to respond to changes triggered by tariff-related developments.”
Hankook plans to strengthen its “sales and marketing efforts” in conjunction with the $1.6 billion expansion of its PLT tire plant in Clarksville, Tenn., which, when complete, will also allow the plant to produce TBR tires.
TBR tire production at the plant could start as early as this year, Rob Williams, president of Hankook Tire America Corp., recently told MTD. The plant is in the second phase of its expansion, which also will double the factory’s consumer tire production capacity.
Initial, daily TBR tire production targets at the plant will total 3,000 units, with “annual, total production of about one million” tires, said Williams.
“It is a priority for Hankook to invest in the U.S. market as a growth driver, which includes the TBR market. Hankook is already producing TBR products at its global production bases. Our Tennessee plant positions Hankook to enable local-to-local production, improving supply chain efficiencies with some of our key suppliers” and customers.
Other markets
Hankook fared better in South Korea during the first quarter of 2025, increasing sales in the replacement channel, “outperforming overall market demand,” and also increasing its OE channel sales “with increased supply to new vehicle models,” according to company officials.
Europe was another bright spot for the company. Replacement channel sales there grew “across all product categories, exceeding overall market demand,” while OE sales grew year-over-year, driven by an increase in contracted supply volume.
Hankook’s replacement tire sales decline on a year-over-year basis in China “due to sluggish market conditions and weak consumer sentiment.” The company also experienced a decline in OE sales because of reduced demand.
New products
In March 2025, Hankook Tire America Corp. unveiled its fifth-generation TBR tire line-up for the U.S. market and announced that new additions to Hankook’s TBR family — and all future truck and bus tire products — will be brought to market under the newly established Hankook Smart Brand, moving forward.
New TBR tires unveiled in March include the Hankook Smart Flex AH51, DH51 and DH52. The AH51 and DH52 will be available during the second quarter of 2025, while the DH51 will be available in quarter three of this year.
According to Hankook officials, Smart Brand tires utilize Hankook’s Smartec technology philosophy, integrating innovations such as Self-Generated 3D Sipe technology and new tread compounds.
This past January, Hankook announced the addition of three new tires to its U.S. portfolio: the Dynapro evo AS, the next generation of the Dynapro HT2 and the latest Ventus evo. While the Dynapro line is specifically designed for SUVs and light trucks, the newest Ventus evo will also come in SUV sizes.
