Korean tire companies prepare for high demand of EV-specific wheels

Hankook Tire's iON evo AS SUV tire for electric vehicles [HANKOOK TIRE]

The tire market especially for electric vehicles (EVs) is expected to experience a surge in demand as the sales of EVs rapidly increase across the world.

Local tire manufacturers such as Hankook Tire, Kumho Tire and Nexen Tire are all releasing EV-specific tires catering to the rising demand.

“The sales figure isn't that high right now, but when the time comes for drivers to change tires after two to three years, sales are expected to increase sharply,” one industry insider said.

The number of EVs sold in Korea reached 106,371 in the first 10 months of this year, taking up 9.3 percent of all automobile sales.

Hyundai Motor has set its yearly EV sales goal to 840,000 by 2026 and 1.87 million by 2030.

Sales of EVs are expected to take up 40 percent of the U.S. automobile market by 2030, according to global market tracker IHS Markit.

The market for EV tires is expected to expand accordingly. Global market tracker Precedence Research forecasts the EV-specific tire market will increase from last year’s $40 billion to $161.6 billion in 2030.

The three local tire manufacturers are gradually expanding supplies of tires for EVs to foreign automakers such as Volkswagen and BMW, and are promoting their products at international motor shows.

Hankook Tire’s EV tire has been used in Tesla’s Model Y manufactured in China since last year.

One issue with these tires, though, is the price.

Prices of these tires are around 10 to 20 percent more expensive than those for internal combustion vehicles due to additional features such as road noise reduction and energy efficiency. They are also specially designed to carry a heavier load.

As EVs run on electric motors, the noise from tires appears much louder, and these vehicles weigh over 2 tons on average due to the heavy battery packs.

A single EV-specific tire for Kia’s EV6 is approximately 240,000 won ($180), or nearly 1 million won for all four tires. For SUVs with internal combustion engines, the total amount is generally around 800,000 won to 900,000 won.

Some question whether these tires could be replaced with those for SUVs, but tire companies recommend drivers use EV-specific models despite the higher price tag.

“As EVs do not produce much noise as they run on motors instead of internal combustion engines, the road noise is loud,” said a spokesperson for a tire company. “The tire is specially designed to reduce this noise.”

The tires contain special noise-absorbing materials inside.

Experts say prices may become cheaper in the future.

“EV-specific tires are using the newest technologies to improve resistance, fuel economy and noise reduction causing the price to be higher,” said Kim Pil-su, a professor of automotive engineering at Daelim University.

“Prices will become cheaper if the market expands with the continuous release of EVs.”

BY KIM MIN-SANG [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]