Hankook Tire Wins Six Awards in the Design Concept Category at the 2026 Red Dot Design Award

- Secures two Best of the Best and four Winner honors, with all six entries awarded for innovative design excellence
- i-Flex Gen 2 airless tire and Medi Buddy mobile AI smart IV system earn Best of the Best honors
- Showcases an innovative vision for future mobility, ranging from sustainable concept tires to lifestyle objects

Seoul, Korea, August 26, 2026 — A leading global tire company Hankook Tire & Technology (Hankook Tire) has won six honors in the Design Concept category at the Red Dot Award 2026, one of the world’s most prestigious design competitions, including two Best of the Best and four Winner awards.

The Red Dot Design Award is one of the world’s three major design awards, alongside Germany’s iF Design Award and the U.S.-based International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA). Each year, winners are selected across three categories: Product Design, Brands & Communication Design, and Design Concept. The Design Concept category, in which Hankook Tire received the latest honors, focuses on evaluating forward-looking ideas and innovation at the prototype stage.

With all six of its entries recognized, Hankook Tire once again highlighted its global design competitiveness, underpinned by innovative design capabilities for future mobility and a design philosophy centered on sustainability.

First, the i-Flex Gen 2, which received the Best of the Best award, is a next-generation airless concept tire optimized for future electric vehicles and autonomous driving environments. Evolved through continuous research and development since the first-generation i-Flex was unveiled in 2015, the design features an industry-first circumferential spoke structure designed to enhance its aesthetic appeal while also improving low-noise performance and driving stability.

The second Best of the Best winner, Medi Buddy, is an innovative medical mobility concept developed through an industry-academic collaboration project between Hankook Tire and the Korea Institute of Design Promotion’s Korea Design Membership Plus (KDM+). Leveraging autonomous driving and AI technologies, the smart IV system interacts with hospitalized children to help ease anxiety and provide emotional comfort. The concept was recognized for its innovation and potential as a future mobility solution.

The four Winner awards went to concepts highlighting sustainability and a forward-looking vision: the Bladder Upcycling Series from the re:move upcycling project; Concept S, which envisions the future of tires made from 100% sustainable materials by 2050; WheelBot2, a spherical concept tire capable of 360-degree omnidirectional movement; and Bloom, a smart urban canopy design.

The award-winning concepts will be featured in a special exhibition at the Red Dot Design Museum Singapore.

Meanwhile, Hankook Tire became the first Korean company to receive the Red Dot Award’s Luminary honor in 2015, followed by the tire industry’s first iF Gold Award in 2016 and an IDEA Bronze Award in 2017, completing a sweep of the world’s three major design awards. Through continued innovation in tire design and future mobility, Hankook Tire is strengthening its position as a brand committed to shaping a more sustainable future.