Neu-Isenburg, Germany, 5 June 2024 – With the iON GT, premium tyre manufacturer Hankook is expanding its iON product family developed specifically for electric vehicles. The iON GT summer tyre, developed specifically for battery-powered city cars and saloons, as well as the iON GT SUV available for compact SUVs will celebrate their premiere at this year’s “The Tire Cologne”, the leading trade fair for the tyre industry. A characteristic feature of the new tyre in addition to the A/A/A rating on the EU tyre label is a high percentage of recycled and renewable materials that match the strength, flexibility and durability of conventional tyre components. The strong sustainability credentials are attested to by the ISCC PLUS certification (ISCC = International Sustainability & Carbon Certification)¹. The iON GT will be available from autumn in sizes from 16 to 20 inches.

High percentage of recycled and renewable materials

Among other things, the developers worked with bio-based silica and sustainable PET textile cord from plastic waste. The tyres also feature plant-based oils and resin, bio-circular synthetic rubber from bio-circular feedstocks as well as circular carbon black from tyre pyrolysis oil and recovered carbon black from end-of-life cycle tyres. The Hankook engineers used a high proportion of ISCC PLUS mass balance certified materials for the iON GT. Despite the high percentage of sustainable components, the engineers at Hankook have succeeded in increasing the sustainability without having to compromise on the tyre safety and comfort.

The new iON GT meets the challenging day-to-day requirements for EV tyres with a package of technical measures. EV tyres have a higher level of wear than tyres for ICE vehicles. One way that Hankook deals with this is the i Super Mileage technology. This includes Round Even, which guarantees an extremely even contact pressure on the road and helps to extend the tyre’s life. Hankook’s Opti Cure technology is an advanced vulcanisation technology that helps to significantly reduce rolling resistance. This is how the iON GT can contribute to greater range per battery charge. Much more resistant aramid fibres enhance the steering precision in combination with the Grip Boost technology, which reduces the movement of the sidewall. At the same time, the ProGrip tread mixture ensures better adhesion on wet surfaces through a combination of high-density silica and other sustainable raw materials.

Another development goal was to have the quietest possible running characteristics, especially since the absence of noise made by a combustion engine draws attention to this aspect., As a result, it is even more important that Hankook’s integrated i Sound Absorber technology in conjunction with the specific tyre pattern noticeably reduces the noise level in the cabin.

Thanks to these measures, the EU tyre label of the new Hankook iON GT bears an A/A/A rating. This corresponds to top marks for rolling resistance, wet grip and rolling noise. The Hankook iON GT has been named “Winner” in the Product Design category at the Red Dot Design Award 2024.

With the new iON GT, Hankook is consistently pursuing its strategy of offering the best possible tyre for every electric vehicle. Alongside the new development, which is designed primarily for the North American market, the global tyre family now includes the Hankook iON evo performance-oriented summer tyre, the Hankook iON i*cept winter tyre and the Hankook iON FlexClimate all-weather profile.

^{1) ISCC PLUS is an international certification system that audits the use of sustainable materials throughout the production process. Find more information at www.iscc-system.org/certification/iscc-certification-schemes/iscc-plus/}