Hankook Targets Electric Pickups

Hankook Tire America Corp.’s electric vehicle (EV) tire lineup is no longer focused solely on passenger cars. This month the tiremaker is expanding the iON line to SUVs and pickup trucks with the new iON HT.

Robert Nasca, product training manager at Hankook, says the tire is designed to accommodate both the typical load-bearing uses of these larger vehicles with the sound-sensitive and high torque-related needs of an EV platform.

“What we look for here with the pickup truck is that not only do the truck owners want to be aggressive, but because of the electric vehicle, they also want to make sure that they don’t sacrifice the range, the performance or the quality of the tire,” Nasca says. “Those are some of the components that we looked at when we made the iON HT.”

The tire’s key compound and design features include:

• Roll Lite Compound and Opti Cure Technology: The tire’s compound and curing technology work together to decrease internal friction for optimal curing temperature. Hankook says that results in lower rolling resistance and battery efficiency.
• ProDurable Compound and Opti Tread Technology: This combination improves wear resistance because road pressure is distributed evenly, which helps extend tread life. Hankook offers an 80,000-mile limited treadwear warranty on the tire, and says that lifespan is one of the longest for EV tires.
• 3D-embossed sipe and flared shoulder grooves: These features provide both grip and help with water evacuation, which contributes to all-season traction, including gin wet conditions.
• An aggressive shoulder block design and iON construction: These features buffer against impacts to the tire, but do so without affecting comfort.

All five debut sizes of the tire are designated for XL loads, and come with speed ratings of T or H. Primary fitments of these initial sizes include the Ford F-150 Lightning and the Rivian R1T. More sizes are to be added in 2026.

• 275/65R18
• 275/65R20
• 275/60R20
• 275/55R21
• HL275/50R22

Nasca says the iON HT is coming to market as a replacement tire, and so far doesn’t have an original equipment fitment, though other tires in Hankook’s iON family have secured OE fitments. That family includes all-season, winter and summer tires that fit a variety of sedans, compact cars, sports and premium cars and CUVs.

With the iON HT, Nasca says Hankook is pursuing “the Cybertrucks, the F-150 Lightnings, the Chevrolets and the GMCs, the new Sierras that are coming out. We want to go after a truck owner (with) a dedicated EV tire.”

And while this launch is dedicated to North America, Nasca says, “We look at the entire world and the world demand. So we see that there is a larger demand maybe in other parts of the world, but we see it growing here in the U.S. We want to make sure that we identify all of our potential sales, not only with our customers, but also with the end user.”

He says the tire has been specifically designed to respond to complaints from consumers about tire wear.

“One of the biggest complaints is that the tire’s not lasting long and that it’s not able to hold a charge or have more miles per charge, and so that’s one thing that we identified with this iON HT. Not only will it handle the torque that the consumer (is) going to be putting on the vehicle itself, but also our tires will be able to get you more miles per charge,” Nasca says.

Will EVs limit tire sizes?

A new tire launching with just five sizes is unusual in a market where size proliferation continues. But this is a tire specifically built for battery-powered EVs and hybrids, and Nasca says so far, those case-specific tire sizes haven’t exploded like their counterparts built for internal combustion-powered vehicles.

“I think it’s getting more streamlined, because I think if you look at the EV sales not only for sedans but also for large SUVs and now for light pickup trucks, that we’re starting to see that there’s going to be niche sizing that people are going to want to stay with.

“I can see us being very direct with our sizing and also going after the largest market share for our customers.”

And Nasca says that’s a trend he could see continuing.

“Let’s hope … it stays focused, and I think it will. If you look at the market, I find that the consumers that are going for EV light trucks are sophisticated in a sense that they want to keep everything kind of simple. They like the technology of things. They are looking at it from a holistic point of view.”