A South Korean brand of economy class tyres offering tyres for passenger cars (including SUVs), light commercial vehicles, trucks and buses, as well as industrial and agricultural vehicles. Kingstar was founded in 1998 and its founder and owner is Hankook Tire Corporation, the seventh largest tyre manufacturer in the world.
Key dates:
1941 – establishment of Chosun Tire Company, a company original to Hankook Tire,
1944 – Chosun manufactures its first car tyres,
1953 – the company changes its business name to Hankook Tire Corporation,
1997 – opening of the Hankook European research centre in Hannover, Germany,
1998 – creation of the Kingstar brand, Hankook's budget brand,
1999 – start of the production of Kingstar tyres for passenger cars; debut on the European market,
2005 – Kingstar offers truck, agricultural and industrial tyres,
2012 – Kingstar's launch in the United States,
2014 – Hankook's new technology centre is built in Daejeon, South Korea.
Interesting facts:
Although Kingstar is a South Korean brand (like Hankook), its tyres are made in China - at the Shandong Kingstar Tyre & Rubber Co factory in Quingdao City.
Kingstar tyres are offered as “premium budget brand” in many countries.