Global tire maker Hankook Tire announced that its electric vehicle (EV) tire brand, iON, has won four awards in the Product Design category at the Red Dot Design Award 2023. The awarded products include iON evo, iON evo AS, iON i*cept, as well as iON, the official EV racing tire for the ABB FIA Formula E GEN 3 vehicle.
In May last year, Hankook Tire launched the iON brand globally, starting from the European replacement (RE) tire market. Designed from the ground up for high-performance premium electric vehicles, the iON features a balanced set of characteristics such as low noise, rolling resistance and high mileage. The brand has since become a global leader in electric vehicle tire brands, sold in major EV markets including Europe and North America.
As the official tire supplier for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, iON racing tires for electric vehicles have been developed specifically for the newly introduced, third-generation (GEN3) racing cars. Hankook Tire’s Evolution Technology applied in iON provides excellent grip and handling performance in all driving conditions, ensuring the best racing performance.
The iON was developed considering the entire process from raw material procurement to tire production and recycling, using eco-friendly materials in the production process. The entire inventory of tires used during the race is recycled completely through a pyrolysis process. This environmentally conscious approach has earned Hankook Tire 15 Red Dot Design Awards since 2013, including the prestigious Luminary Award in 2015, making it the first company in the global tire industry to receive the award.
Moreover, Hankook Tire has been recognized for its design competitiveness by globally recognized competitions such as the “iF Design Award” and the “IDEA” as early as 2012 in addition to the Red Dot Design Award, widely considered as one of the top three design awards in the world. The Red Dot Design Award evaluates industrial product design in the categories of Product Design, Brand & Communication Design, and Design Concept. This year, more than 20,000 products were entered from 51 countries around the world.
