How are Michelin and Hankook related?

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Think of it like Lexus and Toyota or Acura and Honda... they share a lot of R&D, but are two distinct brands catering to different market segments - it's just a way to reach a broader market since not everyone is willing to pay top dollar for a set of Michelins, just like not everyone is willing to pay premium for an Acura or Lexus even though technically they are better cars than Honda or Toyota.

Michelin may make a better product in terms of quality, but I'm guessing Hankook tires are more affordable. So, if someone is looking for an inexpensive tire, then to this person, Hankook is "better".
 
Originally Posted By: FordFocus
Yes, Hankooks are more affordable but Michelins are higher quality.

So, there's your answer. Some buyers look for best quality, while others look for best price. Since you can't possibly have both quality AND low price in one single product, you engineer two products that cover both types of buyers. Hankook products are engineered to a specific price point.

Michelin won't officially put their name on a low priced tire because it may degrade their "top quality, best of the best" image, hence they use another brand name (Hankook) to achieve this. Companies do this all the time in order to not dilute brand image.
 
Ok, so is it correct for my boss to say hankook car tires are designed by Michelin? Can any Hankook of Michelin Dealer confirm/deny this? The Hankooks that we mainly sell are the Mileage Plus II, H714, H727's.
 
Let's just agree on the fact that certain tire technologies/knowhow are shared between michelin and hankook instead of insisting that hankook tires are designed by michelin.

Similar analogy: just because Toyota owns Hino doesn't necessarily means that Hino is designed by Toyota, period.
 
Originally Posted By: Quest
Let's just agree on the fact that certain tire technologies/knowhow are shared between michelin and hankook instead of insisting that hankook tires are designed by michelin.

Yup, one can't really say for sure. All it says is that the two companies cooperate on R&D, but each probably still has their own team of designers.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Quest
Let's just agree on the fact that certain tire technologies/knowhow are shared between michelin and hankook instead of insisting that hankook tires are designed by michelin.

Yup, one can't really say for sure. All it says is that the two companies cooperate on R&D, but each probably still has their own team of designers.


Well, I can say for sure.

I know folks who work in Michelin R&D, and I know folks who work in Hankook R&D, and not only are they in different locations in different states, they don't act as though there is any connection.

So while there may be some sharing of technology, the basic tire design is done by their own in-house engineers. I would describe it more like they are completely independent.
 
A few years back, Hankook had a tire with tread pattern that looked like a carbon copy of Michelin Pilot Sport.

Anyway, I haven't heard anything bad about Hankook. I'd assume they make decent tires.
 
ownership in no way implies technology exchange.

But I really like 'kooks'.

Their Ventus V12 is a very highly rated tire I may be trying out next.
 
After the displeasure of having them on the Ford F-150 at work (DynaPro AT RH08), I'd have a hard time buying a Hankook tire, at least one for a truck. The amount of rubber that's chunked off the tread is amazing. Even the Goodyear Wrangler RT/S tires on our previous truck stood up much better to the same abuses. These are pretty flimsy tires.

Their car tires may be much better. But this light truck tire leaves a lot to be desired.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Think of it like Lexus and Toyota or Acura and Honda... they share a lot of R&D, but are two distinct brands catering to different market segments - it's just a way to reach a broader market since not everyone is willing to pay top dollar for a set of Michelins, just like not everyone is willing to pay premium for an Acura or Lexus even though technically they are better cars than Honda or Toyota.

Poor analogy. Toyota totally owns Lexus. Honda totally owns Acura. Michelin totally owns BFGoodrich and Uniroyal. Michelin owns 10% of Hankook, and we do not know exactly what or how they share R&D, distribution, manufacturing, or anything else. We don't know if they cooperate with passenger tires or heavy equipment tires or what.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
ownership in no way implies technology exchange.

But I really like 'kooks'.

Their Ventus V12 is a very highly rated tire I may be trying out next.


Pep Boys carries Hankook tires, their price of Ventus V12 Evo is similar to Discount Tire/America Tire, but they have buy 3 get 1 free most of the times and this month they have anoth $20-30 off for $250 on tires . If you like to try Hankook tires, check the price from Pep Boys and then ask DT/AT for price match.
 
Hankook makes some lower end tires for Michelin - such as the Uniroyal lineup for Wal-Mart and some BFG tires for Costco.
 
I check tire reviews on TIRERACK and CONSUMER REPORTS and bought two Hankook's for my wife vehicle and four Kumho's for my vehicle, to replace the Michelin's that wore out in 36,000 miles with using a spare in a tire rotation plan. The mentioned tires were rated high by both places.
 
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