Nexen Tyres

Origin and Expansion

Nexen Tyre Corporation is a multinational tyre manufacturing brand based in Yangsan, South Korea. Founded in 1942 as Heung-A Tyre Company, the Nexen has been in the industry for nearly eight decades. The brand has been producing and selling tyres for passenger cars, SUVs, Van and light trucks in over 140 countries, including India. Over the years, the company has achieved tremendous success and placed itself as a leading tyre brand not only in the domestic market but also on the world stage.

The company produced the first tyre in 1956 in Korea after the Korean war. The firm was acquired by Wonpung Industry in 1973, and then jointly managed by Kukje Group from 1979. The year 1984 marked the entry of the company into the mass manufacturing of radial tyres. Three years later, the company entered into a brief technology partnership with Michelin for producing tyres.

The company changed its business name to Nexen Tyres in the year 2000 and started focusing on investment in the following years. The brand started its second production facility in 2004 and established its first production plant in China two years later. The tyremaker has also developed 15 and 20 series of ultra-high-performance tyres that became very successful. To meet the increasing demand, the firm opened a manufacturing facility in Qingdao, China in 2007. The company has invested USD 800 million in setting up a manufacturing plant in the Czech Republic which came into operation in 2019.

To expand its reach, the tyremaker signed an MoU with Mubadala Investment Company in Abu Dhabi for strategic partnership investment. It is the OEM supplier for popular brands such as Porsche, Chrysler, Fiat, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia Mercedes Benz, Renault Skoda and Volkswagen. Nexen Tyres also entered into a partnership with Plug and Play, an innovative startup platform, through which the tyre brand will develop tyre and mobility technologies, a part of its effort to create an infrastructure for future technology development and initiating a new business model.

In the field of innovation and technology, the tyremaker has one of the most advanced research and development centres. In 1992, the tyremaker developed the first V-shaped rotation (one-directional) tyre in Korea. The tyremaker was awarded a patent for developing a technology to produce rubber/stratified silicate nano-composite tyres in 2005. The company also developed a Green Hive concept tyre that features a replaceable tread block for which it was ranked top among 2000 entries and the judges considered it as a game-changing tyre.

In terms of sports marketing and sponsorships, the tyremaker entered into a partnership with professional English football club Manchester City FC and became a part of Bundesliga entering a partnership with Eintracht Frankfurt, a well-known German football club. In the US, the brand has tied up with three Major League Baseball teams and has been sponsoring Formula Drift. 

In South Korea, the company has been organizing motorsports events such as Nexen Tyre Speed Racing and CJ SUPERRACE Championship, playing the role of title sponsor. It is the official sponsor of Toyota 86, a Japanese global racing event and sponsored promising racers and teams participating in the world-class 24 Hours Race at Nurburgring.

Facilities

Apart from the main research and development institute in Seoul, Korea, Nexen Tyre has a global R&D network in the US, China and Germany. At its high-tech centres, the company develops future-oriented products with distinguished qualities for various requirements.

Where Magok R&D centre in Seoul focuses on the application of new technologies, Europe’s technical centre aims to boost business portfolio, the Chinese centre focuses on developing tyres for local conditions and the American centre highlights developing vital technologies based on research of high-performance tyres.

Achievements

• Chosen as an Excellent Business of New Labor and Management Culture
• Bestowed with the Korean Excellent Industrial Design Awards in 2006
• Won 2010 Korean Good Design Award
• Won internationally acclaimed iF Product Design Award in 2020
• Topped the tyre category of the ‘Global Customer Satisfaction Competency Index (GCSI) continuously since 2012
• WINGUARD SPORT tyre received 2012 US Good Design Award
• Red Dot Design Award winner in 2012
• Winner of America’s Idea Design Award
• Japanese Good Design (G-mark) Award
• N Fera Sport tyre ranked first in summer tyre test by German auto magazine Auto Club Europa (ACE).
• Winner of 2017 US Good Design Award

Passenger Car Tyres

Nexen offers a range of high-performance products for the passenger car and SUV category. These products are optimized for cold and hot weather as well as also available in the all-season format, with a long-lasting tread design, low noise and comfortable ride quality. Some of the noteworthy products available at international markets, include N FERA Supreme, N FERA Sport, N FERA Primus, N FERA AU5, N Blue HD Plus, N Blue 4Season, Roadian HP, N CP661, N Priz, N700, WINGUARD Sport 2, WINGUARD Ice Plus, and WINGUARD WinSpike, among others.

Truck Tyres

Nexen has made progress in different commercial categories and selling tyres right from luxury highway terrain, premium all-terrain, mud terrain to all season and commercial LTR. The uniquely designed tyres for light trucks and vans are enhanced to improve durability, low fuel consumption and efficient wear and grip performance. Some of the famous products include Roadian HTX RH5, Roadian MTX, Roadian AT 4x4, N Blue 4Season Van, and WINGUARD WT1, among others.

Manufacturing facilities in India and abroad

The tyremaker has four manufacturing plants, including two in Korea (Yangsan and Changnyeong), one in Qingdao, China and another plant in the Zatec region of the Czech Republic. With increasing global exposure, Nexen has opened up branches in China, the US, Malaysia, Italy, Germany, India, Australia, Brazil, Columbia, South Africa, Turkey and UAE. 

The company produces over 40 million tyres annually and sell them in over 140 countries globally, including 4 million tyres in the Middle East region. Using cutting-edge technologies, the company develops high-performance tyres with the finest quality and the same international level products are then imported in India.

Nexen Sales Network

Nexen Tyre has over 491 dealers based in 141 countries across the globe. In India, the Nexen has over 16 dealers located in Bengaluru, New Delhi and Surat.