Hankook Tire makes official entry into Malaysia
Korean tyre brand Hankook is not unfamiliar to Malaysians, as it has been in our shores since 1997, brought in by Kai Shen Marketing Sdn Bhd. Founded in 1941, the company has since grown into world’s seventh biggest tyre producer, a position occupied since 2006. Over the last ten years, the company’s sales have been growing on average by 13.9% annually.
Over 80% of Hankook’s tyre sales are accounted for by markets outside Korea, and globally, the company’s presence is sustained by four local headquarters and twenty-seven local branches throughout the world. Tyres are churned out from five manufacturing plants spread in three separate countries, and they are in turn supported by work from five R&D centres worldwide. The company currently counts BMW, Audi, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Kia, and several other major car makers in its portfolio of OEM clientele.
Moving forward, the company has plants in China and Indonesia currently under construction, and the mid-term goal is to be the World No. 5 in a three-year time frame. The China plant is situated in the Liang Jiang Xin Qu of Chongqing Municipal, which is southwest of China’s biggest industrial and commercial center, and it will have an annual capacity of 11.5 million passenger car and truck-and-bus tyres.
The Indonesia plant, meanwhile, is situated in Bekasi near a recently revitalized GM facility. It is the product of a US$ 353 million investment, and 50% of its output will be devoted to the North American market. Completion of the plant is scheduled for September 2014, with a projected capacity of 6 million tyres. Hankook is expecting its annual global production volume to surpass 100 million tyres by then.
In Malaysia, Hankook Tire Malaysia Sdn Bhd was established in December 2012 and it assumed the role as the sole importer of Hankook tyres into the country effective February 2013. The brand’s long-term partner Kai Shen, will continue to play a prominent role in the years to come, having been appointed as a wholesaler to promote the tyres to sub-dealers.
Responsibility of marketing and promoting the range of tyres will now fall to the principal Hankook Tire Malaysia, and the company is seeking to capture a substantial 10% of market share in the country by 2018. The company is looking to setup Hankook-branded dealerships, dubbed ‘Hankook Master’ outlets, throughout the country to support its upcoming range of products.
