Kumho has replaced Michelin as control tyre supplier to TCR Australia, adding the race series down under to a touring car championship portfolio that already sees it providing tyres for TCR Europe, TCR South America, TCR Brazil, TCR Spain, TCR Eastern Europe and TCR Denmark. The tyre maker will also supply control tyres for the new in 2023 TCR World Tour.
Kumho has continued its recent good form in tyre tests, outstripping 30 rival manufacturers to take fifth place overall in Auto Bild’s latest all-season tyre test. The Kumho Solus 4S HA32 was comprehensively put through its paces in a test that spanned two continents. Kumho rates the test highly, saying its results “will be regarded as highly significant by both the European tyre trade and its consumers.”
The rise and rise of the SUV has been a dominant feature of the car market for some time now, and Kumho says this is having a “fundamental effect” on its tyre range. This can be witnessed in the most recent addition to the company’s SUV/4×4 line-up, the Ecsta PS71 SUV.
The World Brand Lab has released the list of Asia’s 500 most influential brands in 2022. Tyrepress analysis shows seven brands related to tyres among those ranked, namely: Bridgestone, Hankook, Kumho, Doublestar Linglong, Sailun, and Sumitomo. The Sumitomo brand involves diversified industries, but its subsidiary Sumitomo Rubber is a world-renowned tyre manufacturer.
Gangseung ‘Tony’ Lee is the new head of Kumho Tire Europe GmbH. The tyre maker’s former senior vice president of global marketing commenced his European remit on 1 October, succeeding Namhwa Cho, who is reportedly taking on the role of president of Kumho Tire USA.
Kumho Tyre (UK) supported the Max Adventure team as it beat its original time target on the Driven To Extremes Euro EV Marathon. The team covered its 3,174 mile-route from Oslo to Portugal in just 3.75 days in the fully electric Kia EV6 ‘Air’ fitted with Kumho’s Ecsta PS71 EV tyre. The team knocked 47 minutes off the time set by Sir Stirling Moss in 1952, adding an extra country to the list of those visited. The challenge was designed to show that a standard EV and current charging infrastructure can now allow drivers to cover vast distances in a short time. The Kumho Ecsta PS71 EV is an original fitment on the Kia EV6, with the 235/55R19 size used by the challenge car throughout the trial.
Zhang Zhentao, deputy general manager of Doublestar, submitted a written resignation application to the board of directors recently. Doublestar confirmed that Zhang Zhentao is not employed by company following his resignation, but did not disclose where he is working now. Zhang Zhentao is mainly engaged in financial work and has served as the deputy general manager of Doublestar since May 2020. Before that, he was part of the financial management of Tsingtao Brewery.
Well used to receiving Red Dot Design Awards for its road tyres, Kumho has now won one for its ‘Airborne Tire’, a revolutionary concept product aimed at the rapidly evolving UAM (Urban Air Mobility) sector. Kumho’s latest Red Dot Design Award was in the ‘Design Concept’ category.
Recreating a historic motoring exploit, the 3,600-mile challenge will visit 15 countries in just 120 hours. Kumho’s Ecsta PS71 EV tyre is an original fit on the Kia EV6 and it is this specialist product in 235/55R19 size that the challenge car will be equipped with throughout the trial.
For the first time since being acquired by China’s Doublestar four years ago, Kumho Tire has published an annual report. Under the title ‘Up and Running’, the South Korean tyre maker reports on the course of the 2021 business year, which the manufacturer closed with a turnover of KRW 2.6 trillion won (£1.65 billion), a year-on-year increase of 20 per cent.
Kumho has launched a new winter tyre for the medium to large car and SUV market, the Wintercraft WP52. The new tyre follows the introduction of a new all-season van tyre from the Korean manufacturer, the PorTran 4S CX11, which added features from the lauded Solus 4S HA32 all-season car tyre to its existing winter van range. Kumho has established itself as a tyre supplier to Europe’s biggest winter tyre markets in the Nordic and Central Europe regions with a comprehensive range of well-regarded products, and is strengthening its position in the region’s growing all-season market.
Kumho presented its latest tyres and award-winning technologies at Autopromotec 2022. It also used the opportunity to underline its new approach to the Italian market, similar to its UK strategy, as Carlo Citarella, managing director of Kumho Tire Italia, explained. He said that Autopromotec gave the company “a great opportunity for the whole Kumho Tire Italia Team to speak directly with our customers, following the new direct approach to the market. Only by talking directly with the customer can we better understand the retailer’s needs and offer a service that lives up to their expectations.“ The manufacturer’s tyre range has been calibrated to meet these expectations. The latest tyres on stand included the Ecsta PS71, Ecsta HS52 and Ecsta PS71 EV summer tyres, the new Wintercraft WP52 and the all-season Solus HA32.
BKT supplier and family-run tyre wholesaler RH Claydon (RHC) has announced the official opening date of its new depot in Carlisle’s Kingmoor Park North enterprise zone. From Monday 1 August the site will be open for deliveries and collections between 8 am and 5:30 pm Monday and for collection 9 am to 12 pm Saturdays. This depot is the company’s eighth site and will allow a greater coverage of the north and border areas.
Kumho’s surprise victory in the 2021 in Auto Bild’s 52-tyre summer tyre test with its Ecsta HS51 high-performance tyre did not prevent the manufacturer from replacing the tyre with the Ecsta HS52 successor high performance tyre. Some sizes are already available at Kumho dealerships nationwide, with the balance of the line-up due shortly.
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