Hankook presents specially developed EV tyres

The tyre manufacturer Hankook is launching its first tyre family, iON, on the market from May 2022, which has been specially developed for electric vehicles. Among other things, these will not only have a reduced rolling resistance and low-noise rolling behaviour but will also be designed for the high torques of electric cars.

++ This article has been updated. Kindly continue reading below. ++

The tyre family of the iON includes different sizes between 18 and 22 inches from the market launch. The Hankook Ventus iON S summer tyre will be launched in Europe in May, followed by the Hankook Winter i*cept iON as a winter tyre in September 2022. However, the Korean tyre manufacturer will only launch the all-season tyre Hankook Ventus iON A in North America.

Although the iON tyres were developed with the requirements of electric cars in mind, they are not limited to use on electric cars. The low-noise rolling behaviour probably only comes into its own with quiet electric cars, but the lower fuel consumption due to the improved rolling resistance also helps with other types of drive. Due to the design for high torque, the mileage of powerful electric cars should improve. However, Hankook does not give absolute figures or relative improvements to the individual criteria in the press release.

Hankook tyres optimised for electric mobility are already in use by Audi, BMW, Porsche, VW and other leading brands. However, the Korean company is not the only tyre manufacturer with a special product for electric cars: Michelin had already presented the e.Premacy as a special EV summer tyre in November 2020. At the time, the company said that the range could increase by up to seven per cent.

“With the introduction of this new iON tire family, our company is increasingly considering the rapidly growing demand for electric vehicles and the associated need for suitable tires, also in terms of the need for replacements,” said Sooil Lee, CEO & President of Hankook Tire & Technology. “With an improved range per battery charge, this new generation of tires will help to further optimize the efficiency of electric vehicles in everyday use.”

Update 29 September 2022

Hankook is launching the iON Winter, the first winter tyre in its iON product line, which was introduced in March and is specially designed for electric vehicles. The iON Winter is offered in sizes between 18 and 22 inches.

Characteristics of the new development are a reduced rolling resistance (due to the rubber compound of the tread), a particularly low-noise rolling behaviour (due to the design of the tread) and a high load capacity (also due to the rubber compound). Compared to conventional tyres, this is said to mean “more range per battery charge and a better driving experience”. In addition, the iON products are especially designed for the immediate, high torques of powerful electric vehicles, says Hankook.

The iON evo is available as a summer tyre, and an all-season version, the iON evo AS, will also be available for the North American market. Further specific product variants are in preparation, the company said in a statement.

hankooktire.com, hankooktire-mediacenter.com (update)