Germany's Audi RS models now equipped with S. Korea's Hankook tires

Hankook Tire & Technology Co. revealed that it had been supplying high-performance Ventus S1 evo 3 and Winter i*cept evo2 tires for Audi's RS 7 Sportback sedan and RS6 Avante wagon since early this year.

The company didn't provide the time frame and value of the deal.

Hankook has supplied original equipment (OE) tires to Audi's A3 and A4 sedan, and the Q3, Q5, Q7, SQ7, Q8, and SQ8 SUVs in the past decade.

The tiremaker has provided its products to nearly 50 foreign carmakers, including Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Audi, BMW for320 kinds of vehicles.

From January to September, Hankook's net profit plunged 41 percent to 235.27 billion won from 399.26 billion won last year, due to the effects of the pandemic.

Operating profit dropped 6.1 percent from 426.72 billion in the first 10 months of last year to 400.76 billion won in the same period this year.

Hankook's sales dropped were down 10 percent from 5.22 trillion won in the first 10 months of 2019 to 4.69 trillion won during the same period this year.

Hankook Tire gets 80 percent of its revenue from overseas.

Supplying OE tires do not generate much revenue for tiremakers but helps improve their brand image by having big companies as clients, which could lead to increasing prices down the line.

Hankook Tire & Technology Co. is the world's seventh-largest tiremaker by sales.