Hankook flaunts tire supply deal for Porsche Taycan

Hankook Tire & Technology Co. disclosed Thursday that it has been supplying its high-performance Ventus S1 evo 3 SUV tires as original equipment (OE) for Porsche's Taycan 4S model since the first half of 2019.

The tiremaker didn't provide a time frame and value for the supply deal.

Hankook has also supplied OE tires to Porsche's Macan SUV since April 2015 and Cayenne SUV beginning June 2019.

Supplying OE tires does not generate much revenue for tiremakers but helps secure big clients that improve their brand image and possibly lead to raising product prices.

Hankook has shipped products to nearly 50 foreign carmakers, including Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW.

In the first quarter, Hankook's net profit plummeted 34 percent to 81.28 billion won from 123.23 billion won last year due to the pandemic's impact on global tire demand for vehicles and tire production at its overseas plants.

Hankook, the world's seventh-largest tiremaker by sales, earns over 80 percent of its total revenue overseas.