Boosting Tire Sales

Hankook Tire with its dedicated brand, ‘iON’
Kumho Tire, customized-development with Renault
Nexen Tire with universal ‘one-tire’ strategy

Hankook Tire & Technology, Kumho Tire, and Nexen Tire are extending their technologies accumulated in electric vehicles (EVs) to include hybrid vehicles, thus enhancing their competitiveness in products for electrified vehicles.
According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA), the number of newly registered EVs in South Korea in the first half of this year reached 198,509, a sharp increase of 113.6% compared to the same period last year. The share of EVs among all new cars has risen to 23.3%. Meanwhile, hybrid vehicles accounted for 289,814 units, representing 34.1% of the total new car market.
The growing number of EVs on the roads is generating new demand in the tire market. EVs are equipped with large-capacity batteries, so they are heavier than their internal combustion engine counterparts due to their large-capacity batteries, and their motors deliver high torque instantaneously.

Hybrid vehicles are also heavier than standard internal combustion models due to the added battery and motor. Tires for these vehicles must handle the initial driving force of electric motors while simultaneously ensuring fuel efficiency, ride comfort and quietness.
Hankook Tire is targeting the market with iON, its brand dedicated to EVs. The iON line incorporates specialized technologies designed to address the unique characteristics of EVs, such as heavy loads, high torque, tir3e noise, and rapid tread wear. The company is now expanding the technology and supply experience gained from providing original equipment tires for global EVs, including the Porsche Taycan, BMW i4, i5, and iX, and Qudi Q4 e-tron, to hybrid vehicles.
Kumho Tire is pursuing a strategy to extend the high-load, low-noise technologies secured through Enovv, which was originally developed for its dedicated EV brand, to its general product lines. The specialized high-load design applied in Enovv can withstand greater vehicle weight while maintaining the same air pressure.
Kumho Tire supplies 20-inch tires for Renault Korea’s hybrid models, the Grand Koleos and the Filante.
Nexen Tire is strengthening its ‘one-tire’ strategy, which does not distinguish between EVs and internal combustion engine vehicles. This strategy applies performance characteristics required by EVs, such as high load capacity, high torque, and low noise, to general vehicles as standard features and awards the ‘EV Route’ mark to those that satisfy specific criteria.

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Investing KRW 550 billion to build a new plant in China

Aiming to begin operations in the second half of 2028

Doosan Corporation is investing approximately KRW 970 billion in copper-clad laminates (CCL) for AI data centers. The strategy is to significantly expand production-capacity of high-performance CCLs which are used in AI accelerators, network switches, and optical modules, to meet the surging global demand for AI infrastructure.
Doosan recently announced plans to invest a total of KRW 970 billion in facilities in Korea and China. The company will invest approximately KRW 420 billion in Korea to expand production lines for CCLs for optical modules, and approximately KRW 550 billion in China to build a production plant for CCLs for AI accelerators and network switches. The investment will be carried out in phases through 2028, with operation schedules to begin in the second half of that year.

This large-scale investment is driven by the growth of the high-performance circuit board market, fueled by the expansion of AI data centers. As AI accelerators and network equipment process data faster, the printed circuit boards (PCBs) connecting them are also shifting toward high-speed, high-density products. Consequently, demand for high-performance Copper-Clad Laminate (CCL), a key PCB material, is also rising.
Representative substrate manufacturers include Japan’s Ibiden, Taiwan’s Unimicron, and Korea’s Samsung Electro-Mechanics. Samsung Electro-Mechanics plans to invest approximately KRW 1.8 trillion into expanding its production capacity in Vietnam, while LG Innotek is also investing more than KRW 1 trillion to increase its substrate production capabilities.
As board-production capacity increases, demand for CCL, a key material, is bound to rise as well.
Increasing the production of materials for CCL is also continuing. Last month, Kolon Industries completed the expansion of its modified polyphenylene oxide (mPPO) production line at its second plant in Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk, and held a completion ceremony. mPPO is used in the fabrication of high-performance CCLs for semiconductor circuit boards as a low-dielectric material that reduces electrical signal loss.

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Naval vessel order backlog of USD 10 billion

Strong in the production of nuclear submarine modules

Hanwha has stepped forward to acquire Austal USA, a shipbuilder that has been constructing U.S. naval vessels. Austal USA is the U.S. subsidiary of Austal Australia, in which Hanwha is the largest shareholder. Following its acquisition of Philly Shipyard in 2024, Hanwha aims to accelerate its penetration of the U.S. defense market by securing a base capable of producing combat vessels. The company has proposed a price range of USD 1.05 billion to 1.2 billion (approximately KRW 1.5 trillion to 1.7 trillion) to acquire a 100% stake in Austal USA.
Austal USA was founded in 1999 in Mobile, Alabama. It currently employs 3,500 persons, with an order backlog of USD 10 billion (approximately KRW 14.1 won). It has two shipyards, one in Mobile, Alabama (for new vessel construction) and another in San Diego, California (focused on maintenance). It has delivered 19 littoral combat vessels and 15 fast-haul transport ships to the U.S. Navy and the Coast Guard.

With the addition of Austal USA, which has experience producing U.S. Navy vessels and nuclear submarine modules to the Philly Shipyard, which is equipped to build commercial and specialized vessels, Hanwha can generate synergies that significantly expand its business scope in the United States, ranging from naval vessel construction and maintenance to submarine supply chains.
Among South Korea’s Big-3 shipbuilders ‒ HD Hyundai and Samsung Heavy Industries ‒ are each targeting the U.S. naval vessel market using distinct strategies. HD Hyundai has established a shipbuilding partnership with Huntington Ingalls, the largest U.S. naval shipbuilder, and has recently secured consecutive contracts for the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) of U.S. Navy cargo supply ships, Cesar Chavez and Richard E. Byrd.
Following its partnership with the MRO specialist Vigor Marine Group, Samsung Heavy Industries is collaborating with U.S. Shipbuilder NASSCO on the design of a next-generation military logistics support vessel.

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Surge in orders for power generation from U.S. Big-Tech Firms

Expanding ‘HiMSEN Engine’ plant in Onsan

HD Hyundai is expanding the application of its engines from ships to land-based facilities. This is driven by U.S. AI data centers facing challenges in securing sufficient power, thus leading to increased demand for medium-sized engines, which are originally designed for ships, in land-based power generation.
According to the industry, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ engine and machinery division recorded USD 2.499 billion in orders during the first half of this year, reaching 91.6% of its annual target. As of the end of June, the order backlog stood at USD 7.818 billion, which is roughly three times the engine and machinery division’s sales from last year.

As orders piled up, the company also expanded its production capacity. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will invest KRW 833.6 billion into constructing a new ‘HiMSEN Engine’ plant with an annual production capacity of 3GW on a 215,000 square meter site in Onsan-eup, Ulju-gun, Ulsan. HiMSEN Engine is a four-stroke medium-sized engine developed in-house by HD Hyundai. Although primarily supplied for ship propulsion and power generation, demand is now expanding into the onshore power generation market, including from AI data centers.
The existing HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Ulsan plant will focus on producing HiMSEN Engines for ships, while the new Onsan plant and the HD Hyundai Engine facility in Yeongam, Gwangju, Jeollanam-do, will serve as a major production hub for HiMSEN Engine for onshore power generation.
Demand has surged in the United States. Last April, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries signed a supply contract worth USD 425 million for a 684MW capacity unit with Aperion Energy Group. In August, it secured an additional contract worth USD 674 million for a 1,000 MW capacity from Kovan Energy Group.
HD Construction Equipment is also elevating its engine business, which has served as a stable cash cow, to a future growth pillar. In the second quarter of this year, the engine division posted an operating profit margin of 15.3%, with cumulative operating profit for the first half of the year exceeding KRW 100 billion.
The company is expanding its market reach while increasing engine output. The small engines under 1MW manufactured at the Incheon plant are designed as backup power sources for use during blackouts. Meanwhile, the new Gunsan plant, scheduled for completion in late October, will produce ultra-large diesel engines in the 1~3MW range, with an annual production capacity of 1,250 units.

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