BMW official OE certification 'star' mark secured
Partnership spans tire supply to marketing, BMW Driving Center
Hankook Tire & Technology announced Thursday it will supply three products from its Ion electric vehicle tire brand as original equipment tires for the i7, the fully electric variant of BMW's flagship 7 Series sedan.
The BMW 7 Series is the brand's top-tier flagship sedan, known for leading advances in design, driving dynamics, digital features and electrification technology. The i7 combines the exceptional ride comfort and quietness characteristic of a flagship sedan with strong electric vehicle performance, making it BMW's premium electric sedan.
Hankook Tire developed EV-dedicated tires optimized for the new i7, drawing on the technical expertise and development capabilities built through its long-term collaboration with BMW. The company also earned the "star" mark — BMW's official certification granted only to original equipment tires — demonstrating its technological competitiveness against the automaker's stringent quality and performance standards.
The i7 will be fitted with three Ion products — the Ion Evo AS, Ion iCept and Ion Supreme — in 20-, 21- and 22-inch sizes respectively. The Ion lineup is built on Hankook's proprietary EV-focused technology platform, Ion Innovative Technology, and is engineered to balance key performance attributes including energy efficiency, grip, mileage, low noise and reduced rolling resistance, supporting driving performance optimized for electric sedans.
The Ion Evo AS is an all-season tire that delivers stable grip and precise handling across varied climates and road conditions. The Ion iCept winter tire provides superior grip and braking performance in cold-weather driving environments such as snow and wet roads, while the Ion Supreme ultra-high-performance tire offers outstanding handling and high-speed stability on both dry and wet surfaces.
Hankook Tire has maintained a close partnership with BMW Group for 16 years, beginning with the Mini brand in 2011. The company continues to expand its original equipment tire supply portfolio across BMW's lineup — spanning the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 Series sedans, the X1, X3 and X5 SUVs, high-performance models including the M5, X3 M and X4 M, and electric vehicles such as the i4 and iX.
Alongside this, Hankook Tire has supplied high-performance tires to the BMW Driving Center — which opened in 2014 — for 12 consecutive years, and has produced brand films tied to key BMW models, broadening its collaboration from tire supply into marketing.
Meanwhile, Hankook Tire has been reinforcing its technological credentials in motorsport as well, serving as the exclusive racing tire supplier for all classes of the World Rally Championship since 2025.
eyre@heraldcorp.com
