Under a new agreement, Hyundai Motor Group and Michelin will work together to develop next-generation tires optimized for future Hyundai Group premium electric vehicles.
The agreement is a continuation of a five-year partnership signed in November 2017 to develop an exclusive tire for the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Michelin already has experience with the requirements of electric cars: for the 2021 season, the French company launched the e.Primacy Summer tires optimized for electric cars.
The agreement with Hyundai will initially run for three years. The South Korean company names environmentally friendly tires with increased use of environmentally friendly materials (20 instead of 50 per cent of the weight) as focal points. The properties of the tires are to be optimized for next-generation electric vehicles – and also contribute to the “further development of autonomous driving technology” via a real-time tire monitoring system.
The eMobility-specific properties of the tires relate to driving comfort, for example. The tires are to “reduce noise generated by electric vehicles at high speeds”. The partners also want to conduct an analysis of tire wear, tire load and road friction beyond the current standards of tire temperature and air pressure.
Hyundai’s Vice President and Head of Chassis Development Center, Bong-soo Kim has high expectations for the renewed collaboration, promising “real innovation in tire technology”. “By fully leveraging our mobility technology and Michelin’s tire expertise, we are confident that we can achieve breakthrough innovations in tire performance and create synergies in this organic collaboration,” says the chassis developer.
“The collaboration between Hyundai Motor Group and Michelin over the past five years contributed to the successful launch of the Hyundai IONIQ 5,” said Georges Levy, Executive Vice President of Automotive Original Equipment at Michelin. “We are pleased to announce that the relationship has been extended for three more years to continue our work together on new technologies in favor of safer, cleaner mobility.”
hyundai.com
