3 Major Tire Brands That Are Owned By South Korean Companies

The biggest tire makers come from all over the world, with Tire Business’ 2025 Global Tire Report naming Michelin, Bridgestone, and Goodyear as the biggest of all. They’re based in France, Japan, and the U.S., respectively, but a little further down the list, you’ll also find multiple tire makers from Korea.

The biggest Korean brands have OE deals with some of the world’s most iconic carmakers, as well as a significant presence in motorsports, and usually a high-impact sponsorship or two to boost their visibility. As a result, you’ve probably come across all of these brands before, and may very well have bought some of their tires, even if you weren’t aware of their origin story.

The major Korean tiremakers also own various sub-brands, some of which are likely to be more familiar than others. If you’re interested in finding out more about their how they operate, here’s a quick rundown of each brand’s history and place in the market today.

The biggest Korean tiremaker according to Tire Business’ ranking is Hankook, which is the seventh bestselling brand globally. It’s the only Korean brand to feature in the top 10, and sits just ahead of Japanese brand Yokohama. The brand will be best known to most drivers for its range of passenger car and truck tires, but it also makes tires for commercial vehicles like buses. Since 2014, Hankook has also operated a sub-brand, Laufenn, which is sold in more than 100 countries, including the U.S.

Hankook traces its roots back to 1941, when it was launched as Chosun Daiya Industrial. The company helped forge Korea’s modern tire industry, developing the first Korean radial car tire in 1974, and expanding its presence overseas over the following decades. The brand’s reputation was boosted when it secured its first OE deal with BMW in 2012, then signed a second deal with Mercedes-Benz just a year later. Since 2025, it has also been the sole tire supplier for the top class of the World Rally Championship, although it’s probably not a good idea to put those rally tires on your own car.

As you’d reasonably expect from a Korean brand, Hankook has two major tire manufacturing plants in its home country. Additionally, the company also makes tires at a trio of plants in China, a plant in Indonesia, one in Hungary, and one in Tennessee in the U.S. In total, the brand says it has capacity to make up to 100 million tires every year.

Kumho sits just outside of the top 10 in Tire Business’ 2025 ranking of the biggest manufacturers, with its history stretching back more than six decades. The company was first founded in 1960, initially making tires for the domestic Korean market before expanding into the Thai market. Former CEO Jong-Ho Kim told Tire Review that Kumho made just 20 tires a day in its launch year — compare that to its $3.3 billion of tire sales in 2025. A portion of that revenue comes from Kumho’s OE deals, which include automakers like Audi, Ford, and Kia.

Much like Hankook, Kumho makes its tires at facilities in multiple countries, including in the U.S. Its American plant is located in Macon, GA, and it makes passenger car tires. Likewise, its Vietnamese and Chinese plants also focus primarily on the passenger car tire markets, although one plant in China also makes truck and bus tires. In Korea, Kumho has three manufacturing facilities, where it produces the widest array of tire types. As well as the aforementioned car, truck, and bus tires, Kumho also manufactures tires for military aircraft at its plant in Gwangju.

The smallest of the three major Korean tire brands is Nexen, which has been around since 1942. Back then, it was called Heung-A Tire Company. It changed its name to Woosung Tire in 1994, before settling on the current Nexen name in 2000. Most of the company’s production facilities are located in Korea, but it also operates a plant in China, as well as one in the Czech Republic.

Nexen has a long list of OE deals with major manufacturers, with its tires featuring on everything from performance SUVs like the Porsche Cayenne to everyday people haulers like the Kia Carnival minivan. American manufacturers like Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, and Ram also use Nexen as an OE supplier for certain models and markets.

The brand’s N’Fera tire line includes multiple racing models, including a slick tire designed solely for the circuit. The company opened a new winter tire testing center in Finland, so it’s safe to assume that its already-comprehensive range of winter tires will be bulked up further in the near future.