Hankook Tire to supply tires to Guangzhou Jumbo

Hankook Tire said Monday that it would supply tires to a Chinese bus company.

The latest deal is part of the tire maker’s efforts to diversify its clients in China, the world’s biggest automobile market.

On Jan. 8, Hankook Tire signed a memorandum of understanding with Guangzhou Jumbo to exclusively supply Singda tires for buses that transport passengers in cities for the next three years, the company said in a statement.

Guangzhou Jumbo, which operates 4,500 buses in 187 lanes, used to have deals with multiple tire makers, such as Michelin Automotive Tires, Dunlop Tires and domestic brands, it said.

From January to October, the tire maker’s net profit plunged 21 percent year on year to 532.2 billion won ($487 million) due to higher raw materials costs.

For 2017, Hankook Tire aimed to produce a total of 104 million tires at its eight plants - two in Korea, three in China, one in Hungary, one in Indonesia and another in the United States. Yonhap