Hankook Tire Receives Ford’s Prestigious ‘2025 QR ZERO AWARD’ for Quality Excellence

- Held the ‘QR ZERO AWARD’ ceremony for Hankook Tire’s Geumsan Plant at its headquarters, Technoplex, on March 25
- Established as a core partner of Ford since 1999, recognized for top-tier technological capabilities and quality competitiveness
- Ensures consistent production and supply of high-quality products across all eight global manufacturing facilities

Seoul, Korea, March 26, 2026 — Global leading tire company Hankook Tire & Technology (Hankook Tire) announced that it received the ‘2025 QR ZERO AWARD’ from Ford, a leading U.S. automotive brand, at its headquarters, Technoplex, in Pangyo, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, on March 25, reaffirming its top-tier global quality competitiveness.

The ‘QR ZERO AWARD’ is Ford’s most prestigious quality-related award, presented exclusively to global partners that have demonstrated flawless performance over the past year based on outstanding quality competitiveness, including achieving zero quality rejections in parts supply and zero warranty claims.

This recognition is meaningful in that it reflects Ford’s acknowledgment of Hankook Tire’s world-class quality management system and product development capabilities. Hankook Tire’s Geumsan Plant, as the award recipient, currently supplies original equipment tires for Ford’s best-selling pickup truck, the F-150. By demonstrating top-tier technological capabilities and flawless quality competitiveness, the plant became the first among Hankook Tire’s eight global manufacturing facilities to receive the ‘QR ZERO AWARD.’ Hankook Tire is also pursuing a “Quality No.1” strategy through the implementation of big data and AI-based quality systems.

Since establishing a strategic partnership with Ford in 1999 as the first tire company in Asia to do so, Hankook Tire has built a strong and enduring relationship of trust, supplying original equipment tires for the F-150 since 2003. Based on this long-standing collaboration, Hankook Tire has supplied tires for a wide range of Ford’s key models—including the Mustang, Explorer, Ranger, Focus, and Mondeo—with its tires. More recently, the company has also supplied original equipment tires for Ford’s all-electric SUV, the Mustang Mach-E, further demonstrating its top-tier electric vehicle tire technology on a global scale.

Building on Chairman Hyunbum Cho of Hankook & Company Group’s philosophy of technological innovation, Hankook Tire continues to lead the global tire industry by establishing an integrated quality and technology management system. This system leverages its state-of-the-art infrastructure, including its headquarters Technoplex, the high-tech R&D center Hankook Technodome, and Asia’s largest tire test track, Hankook Technoring, while ensuring the consistent mass production of high-quality products across its eight global manufacturing facilities.

Meanwhile, Hankook Tire has achieved Ford’s ‘Q1 Awards’ certification across all eight of its global manufacturing facilities—from its Daejeon Plant in 2000 to its Hungary Plant in 2024—further demonstrating its top-tier technological capabilities and quality competitiveness. The Q1 Award is granted only to partners that meet Ford’s stringent standards in quality, production systems, and technological innovation, serving as a key indicator of a tire company’s technological excellence and quality performance.

Hankook Tire will continue to advance technological innovation through ongoing R&D investments and its state-of-the-art infrastructure, and aims to further expand the delivery of the most advanced driving experience to more than 40 global automotive brand partners, including Ford.