Supply zones for Apollo Go expanded from 4 cities to 10

EV-dedicated iON ST AS tire to be supplied

Driving data to underpin new tire management system

An autonomous vehicle operated by Baidu's driverless robotaxi service Apollo Go. Hankook Tire & Technology supplies the service with its EV-dedicated iON ST AS tire. [Hankook Tire & Technology]
An autonomous vehicle operated by Baidu's driverless robotaxi service Apollo Go. Hankook Tire & Technology supplies the service with its EV-dedicated iON ST AS tire. [Hankook Tire & Technology]

Hankook Tire & Technology is expanding its supply of electric vehicle tires to Baidu's driverless robotaxi service Apollo Go, broadening its footprint in the autonomous mobility market from four Chinese cities to 10 this year.

The company announced Thursday that it will extend the supply of its EV-dedicated iON ST AS tire to Apollo Go across 10 cities, up from the current four.

The cities covered are Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Suzhou, Wuhan, Dongguan, Nanchang and Sanya — all key robotaxi operating zones in China where Hankook Tire will now build out its EV tire supply chain.

The two companies began their partnership in March last year, when Hankook Tire signed a strategic agreement with Baidu and started supplying the iON ST AS to Level 4 self-driving vehicles operating in Wuhan and Shenzhen. Drawing on real-world driving data accumulated since then, the company has gradually extended supply to Beijing, Chongqing and other cities.

Level 4 autonomous driving refers to technology that allows a vehicle to operate without driver intervention within defined conditions and zones. Unlike ordinary passenger cars, robotaxis run for extended hours and repeatedly stop and start to pick up and drop off passengers, making tire durability and driving stability especially important.

The iON ST AS was developed with precisely those operating conditions in mind. The tire features a profile optimized for electric vehicles and incorporates a "Pro-Durable EMC" compound designed to enhance wear resistance.

It is also engineered to reduce rolling resistance — lowering the vehicle's power consumption — while resisting wear under repeated acceleration and braking. The tire is designed to maintain road grip while suppressing noise and vibration during driving.

The tire's ability to handle the varying road environments found across Chinese cities is another factor behind the supply expansion.

In high-traffic, long-distance markets such as Beijing and Shanghai, durability and driving efficiency are paramount. Chongqing, with its slopes, bridges, tunnels and curves, demands steering stability, while Dongguan and Suzhou — cities with heavy rainfall — require strong wet-road grip.

Hankook Tire said the iON ST AS was developed to deliver driving stability and ride comfort across all of these varied operating conditions.

The two companies are also collaborating beyond tire supply, extending their work into the maintenance of autonomous vehicles.

The plan involves linking vehicle, tire, road and cloud data to build a tire management system. Driving information from the iON ST AS will be integrated with Apollo Go's real-time tire pressure monitoring and wear-alert systems, enabling more efficient tracking of tire condition and replacement timing — and reducing the maintenance burden on robotaxis that operate around the clock.

Hankook Tire said it plans to extend the iON lineup beyond passenger EVs to commercial vehicles and self-driving cars, while deepening cooperation with global automakers and mobility companies on the back of its EV-dedicated tire technology.

Meanwhile, Hankook Tire took home two top prizes in the design concept category at the Red Dot Design Award 2026, held in Singapore on Oct. 15. The winners were the iFlex Gen2, a non-pneumatic concept tire aimed at future autonomous driving environments, and Medi Buddy, a design concept for future medical mobility vehicles.


kwater@heraldcorp.com