Hankook expands Apollo Go tire supply to 10 Chinese cities

Hankook Tire & Technology is expanding supply of its iON ST AS electric-vehicle tires for Baidu’s Apollo Go robotaxis in China from four cities to 10. The rollout covers Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Suzhou, Wuhan, Dongguan, Nanchang and Sanya.

The expansion builds on a strategic partnership signed in March 2025. MoneyToday reported that Hankook initially supplied the tires for Level 4 autonomous vehicles in Wuhan and Shenzhen, where it accumulated real-world operating data, before extending supply in stages to cities including Beijing and Chongqing.

Hankook said the tire had proved suited to the stop-start and long-running demands of robotaxi operations. The iON ST AS uses an EV-specific profile and a high-mileage compound intended to reduce rolling resistance while maintaining wear resistance and grip, with the aim of lowering energy consumption and extending tire life.

Its tread pattern and structural design are also intended to reduce road noise and vibration. Hankook said the product is designed for frequent acceleration, deceleration, cornering and braking in urban operations, as well as varied local road and climate conditions.

The company pointed to different demands within the expanded footprint: heavy traffic and longer journeys in Beijing and Shanghai; hilly, tunnelled and curved roads in Chongqing; and high rainfall in Dongguan and Suzhou.

The tire agreement adds a fleet-maintenance component to a robotaxi service that was already operating at scale. By Nov. 3, 2025, Apollo Go had expanded to 22 cities worldwide, according to Caixin Global. It had completed more than 17 million rides and traveled more than 240 million kilometers globally, including more than 140 million kilometers in fully driverless operation. Its weekly fully driverless order volume had exceeded 250,000 as of Oct. 31, 2025.

Hankook and Baidu plan to develop a vehicle-tire-road-cloud framework beyond the supply arrangement. The proposed system would combine iON ST AS driving data with Apollo Go’s real-time tire-pressure monitoring and wear-warning systems to manage tires across their lifecycle, with the stated aim of improving autonomous-vehicle operating efficiency and stability.

Hankook said it is broadening the iON range beyond electric passenger cars to commercial fleets and autonomous vehicles, and plans to continue improving the products through its global research and development work.