KUMHO WITH OE TYRE CONTRACT FOR VW POLO
Europe's largest car manufacturer, Volkswagen AG, has awarded Kumho Tyres a contract to supply 200,000 tyres a year for the new Polo that was in the UK in February 2002.
The Korean manufacturer, currently ranked among the world's top ten tyre companies, has already begun supplying the 185/60R14 size of its Power Max 769 tyre to the German car maker.
Volkswagen's decision to award the contract to Kumho follows a rigorous inspection of the company's manufacturing facilities in Korea and a detailed examination of its highly advanced quality control system.
Although this is the first major original equipment supply contract Kumho has won in Europe, it is not its first association with Volkswagen; Kumho won an order to supply tyres for the Mexican-built VW Beetle.Kumho is confident that the Polo deal will help to create wider awareness of the brand name and product range in the European replacement tyre market and anticipates that a high proportion of Polo customers will remain loyal to its product when they come to change their tyres.
Kumho's European Technical Centre near Birmingham was also involved in the development of the 769; working with the company's primary research institute in Korea to meet Volkswagen's exacting performance specifications for its latest small car.
Kumho UK managing director JM Kim said: "Kumho sees Europe as a key market for both OE and replacement products. We have invested heavily in our UK based test facilities to ensure our products conform to European standards and more than match our competitors in terms of price, performance and durability.