Hankook Tire strengthens partnership with leading fleet management service company UB1st

- To continue partnership until 2024 to develop data-based solutions for tire and vehicle maintenance
- Had successfully concluded pilot test of its driving optimization solution for optimized TCO last year
- Building mileage prediction model to provide advanced solutions for digital tire management market

Seoul, Korea, May 17, 2022 – Global leading tire company Hankook Tire signed a two year extension of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with UB1st, a leading Korean fleet management service provider.

UB1st operates ‘UbiKhan’, a telematics service provider with 100,000 registered vehicles including commercial and passenger vehicles. Hankook Tire and UB1st signed the strategic partnership agreement in 2020 to develop a tire and vehicle management solution using big data. Under the newly signed agreement, the two parties will continue their partnership until 2024.

The initial partnership proved to be of great success. Hankook Tire developed a fleet solution for optimizing total cost of ownership (TCO) through the analysis of data collected with the Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Digital Tacho Graph (DTG). The company successfully concluded the solution test with a Korean transportation company, EHWA Air and Travel Agency, on their buses from July 2020 to September 2021.

Key findings of the conducted pilot tests showed that driving habits such as frequent braking and engine idling could shorten the lifespan and mileage of a tire and waste fuel. Findings indicated that routine checks of tire pressure and improving driving habits can reduce fuel consumption and help tires last longer. With the analyzed driving data, Hankook Tire created an accurate vehicle mileage prediction model by referring to each vehicle’s route severity and driver’s driving habits such as sudden acceleration, deceleration, and braking.

“Targeting opportunities in the fourth industrial revolution, we are glad to announce the partnership extension with UB1st. We have the shared understanding of the need for adopting big data to present a differentiated vehicle and tire management service in the market,” says Sooil Lee, President and CEO of Hankook Tire & Technology

Hankook Tire plans on developing a more precise driving optimization solution and accurate mileage prediction model to fit various types of commercial vehicles. By conducting pilot tests on bus companies that face various driving conditions and collecting a wider pool of experimental data, the company aims to deliver high-quality service to target the fleet and tire management market.