[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] Hyun-beom Cho, Chairman of Korea & Company Group, ordered a company-wide review and implementation of global strategies with an emphasis on strengthening the nation's core technological capabilities and responding to global uncertainty in the Trump era.

This is the first public message to properly execute the global market strategies of Hankook & Company Battery (ES Division) and Hankook Tire, such as expanding the premium lineup in line with market changes and strengthening sales, distribution, and technological competitiveness.

The Korea & Company Group announced on the 26th that it has held a series of meetings for each affiliate and continent to review each group's global strategy, including a management innovation meeting and a regional strategy conference (RSC) at the Technoplex of its headquarters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, over the past month.

At the meeting, the Hankook & Company Group discussed and reviewed the following: △Hankook’s full-scale conquest of the North American battery market, △Expansion of the premium lineup in line with the growth of the sports utility vehicle (SUV) and electric vehicle (EV) markets, △Detailed plans to strengthen technological and price competitiveness, △Enhancing global market share (MS) and brand awareness through a sustainable value-up strategy, and △Preemptive response plans to changes in the global business environment.

In particular, as US President Donald Trump mentioned that a 25% tariff on automobiles and parts could be imposed, making it important to respond to global risks, the group added that Chairman Cho Hyun-beom ordered a multi-faceted and preemptive response to overcome the 'Trump era' head-on, including expanding local production in the US.

◆ 'Hankook Battery' Full-scale Conquest of North American Market···Advanced Global Lead-Acid Battery Business

Hankook & Company plans to accelerate its conquest of the North American market this year, with the battery (lead-acid battery) business in mind as the group's future new growth engine.

By expanding the Tennessee plant in the U.S., the company will more than double its annual production capacity of 1.5 million units, and increase premium AGM battery production to 5 million units by 2030. Lead-acid batteries accounted for approximately 70% of Korea & Company’s total sales last year, driving the group’s best performance ever.

In fact, Chairman Cho has been investing in local factories based on analysis of the U.S. automobile market since 2018, and has achieved the feat of securing the only North American production base in the domestic industry.

In particular, it is analyzed that the preemptive strategy of Hankook & Company enabled a flexible response to the US protectionist trade and tariff policies in the first half of this year. The company added that exports to North America increased by about 20% year-on-year, and that in addition to strengthening Korean brand awareness, it is also pursuing a strategy to expand distribution channels and sales regions.

A Hankook official said, “Hankook’s global branding and battery business growth are expected to accelerate further as the global electric vehicle and thermal management markets expand.”

◆ Strengthening SUV and electric vehicle strategies···Expanding high value-added products such as mix improvement (MI)

Through RSC, Hankook Tire has deeply explored the current status of SUV/EV market expansion and response strategies. The strategy is to continue to lead the market through mix improvement such as supply of high-performance tires as the global automobile industry reorganizes around electrification and large SUVs.

In fact, Hankook Tire is evaluated as leading the global market with technology that maximizes durability and fuel efficiency, such as the world's first electric vehicle-specific tire (Ion). The company plans to accelerate the expansion of its premium lineup by utilizing this.

Amid growing tariff risks from the U.S., the company is also pushing ahead with plans to more than double production at its Tennessee plant. The plan is to significantly expand production from the current 5.5 million units per year to 12 million units this year.

A company official said, “We will effectively implement strategies such as mix improvement (MI) and expansion of U.S. production to enhance brand competitiveness in the global market.”

◆ Distribution optimization, global customized strategy “Preemptive response as a company with national technology···Contributing to national competitiveness”

The Korea & Company Group also presented a roadmap for price management and distribution network optimization. To this end, the company explained that it plans to respond to market changes and respond to exchange rate volatility in real time through a price monitoring system by country and region.

As we implement localized distribution strategies, we have selected Australia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam as markets for expanding and strengthening our distribution network.

The industry expects that the global market strategy of the Korea & Company Group will have a positive effect on preparing for the trend of expanding protectionism in each country, while also enhancing the image of our company on the global stage.

Chairman Cho Hyun-beom emphasized, “We are closely monitoring the Trump administration’s economic and trade policies and preparing various preemptive countermeasures in accordance with the U.S. government’s movements,” and “As a company possessing the nation’s core technologies, we are moving with an emphasis on ‘rapid execution’ of our strategies to help strengthen the nation’s competitiveness and elevate its status.”

A group official said, "We will strengthen our position as a global high-tech group based on Hankook Tire's unrivaled technological prowess, optimized production, distribution, and branding strategies, and 'Hankook Battery's' large-scale investment and premium strategy."