The South Korean tiremaker has maintained a strategic partnership with the German carmaker since 2001, when it started outfitting the Jetta sedans.

Supplying original equipment tires to car manufacturers does not generate much revenue for tiremakers, but securing big companies as clients helps improve their brand images and raise product prices down the line.

For tiremakers, it is more profitable to sell replacement equipment tires in after-sales markets.

Hankook Tire shipped products to foreign carmakers, such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, as part of its efforts to enhance its global brand image.

Last year, Hankook Tire sold 99 million tires produced at its eight plants -- two in South Korea, three in China, one in Hungary, one in Indonesia and one in the United States. (Yonhap)