Hankook's iON EV tyres pick up four Red Dot Design awards

EV-specific tyres have quickly become a big category, and now they're winning awards: Hankook Tyre has announced its new EV tyre brand, iON, has picked up four awards at this year's Red Dot Design Awards.

The awarded products include iON evo, iON evo AS, iON i*cept, and iON, the official EV racing tyre for the ABB FIA Formula E GEN 3 vehicle.

The iON range marks Hankook Tyre's entry into the Australian EV market, with its initial offering coming in the form of the iON evo AS and iON evo AS SUV.

Hankook says the tyres are focused on "high-performance premium electric vehicles", promising low noise and rolling resistance, along with "impressive mileage".

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As if to show its pedigree, Hankook points to its role as official tyre supplier to the FIA Formula E World Championship.

"Leveraging Hankook Tyre's Evolution Technology, the iON tyres deliver exceptional grip and handling performance, ensuring an outstanding racing experience across diverse driving conditions," the brand says.

Importantly for EV buyers, Hankook says its iON tyres were developed with a focus on "eco-friendly" raw material sourcing, sustainable production and a "robust" recycling system.

Whether that includes ringing playgrounds with old tyres, is unclear... however, the brand does say it uses a pyrolysis process in the recycling of its Formula E tyres – gaining it 15 Red Dot Design Awards since 2013.