Hankook Tire America Corp. is making a splash in the rapidly growing all-weather category with the launch of the Hankook Weatherflex GT.
Introduced last month, the Weatherflex GT is Hankook’s latest all-weather product, as well as the first product in the company’s Weatherflex line.
Hankook demonstrated the Weatherflex GT’s capabilities during a Nov. 20 ride-and-drive event in Joliet, Ill.
“This will be the new benchmark for all-weather tires,” Robert Nasca, Hankook product training manager, told event attendees.
‘A game-changer for us’
During the Weatherflex GT ride-and-drive, Nasca said that nearly 10 million all-weather tires were sold in the United States during 2023, according to U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association data.
The all-weather category also grew by 19% between 2022 and 2023, he told attendees.
Hankook introduced its first all-weather tire, the Hankook Optimo 4S, in 2008, followed seven years later by the launch of the company’s second-generation all-weather product, the Hankook Kinergy 4S.
The new Weatherflex GT, which has earned 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake certification, incorporates technologies “from some of our other (product) families,” plus proven technology from previous-generation tires, said Nasca.
The tire’s features include higher sipe density for enhanced traction, a multi-pitch tread sequence for a quiet ride, widened lateral grooves for maximum water evacuation, interlocking 3D sipes that minimize tread block deformation, a new compound that enhances both wet performance and tire life and more.
The Weatherflex GT will be available this January in 37 sizes, fitting wheels ranging from 15 inches to 22 inches in diameter. More sizes will hit the market in fall 2025. When fully fleshed out, the product’s size range will include more than 50 SKUs.
The Weatherflex GT also comes with a 70,000-mile treadwear warranty enabled by the tire’s “compounding and structure,” said Nasca. “We’ve also optimized (its) curing process.”
In addition, the tire sports an asymmetrical tread pattern.
Dealers “will be able to rotate the tire from the left side of the vehicle to the right side of the vehicle,” Nasca explained.
“We’re putting a lot of effort and commitment into” the all-weather category, he said. The Weatherflex GT “is going to be a game-changer for us and for our customers.”
Growth drivers
Several factors, including changing weather patterns, are driving the growth of all-weather tires, said Nasca.
While dedicated winter tires will remain “a very important” part of Hankook’s portfolio, an increasing number of consumers “want a tire that can do it all.
“They want a tire that can handle winter (conditions), but can help in the fall, summer and springtime, too. All-season tires are excellent three-season tires. All-weather tires are four-season tires.”
Fewer tire buyers also “want to deal with two sets (of tires) anymore. There’s consumer demand for simplifying ... the process” of seasonal tire change-overs, he noted.
And tire dealers have asked for more all-season products.
“We have a great connection with our customers. Our senior leadership talks to their senior leadership and asks, ‘What’s going to work for your market? How can we grow with you?’”
