LONDON, APRIL 2023: South Korean company Hankuk Carbon, manufacturers of advanced carbon materials, has invested in Dymag Group Ltd, a leader in lightweight wheels for the automotive industry.
Hankuk Carbon is the leading manufacturer of composite intermediate materials and the first manufacturer to commercialise carbon prepreg in South Korea, in 1984. Though innovation, it has developed materials that are used in various industries such as construction, ship building, automotive and defence.
Dymag is a leading British manufacturer of carbon hybrid wheels in the aftermarket segment for luxury and high-performance road and track cars and motorcycles.
The investment will bring the two companies closer in their common aim of scaling up production of cost effective, sustainable and lightweight hybrid wheels.
Tom de Lange, CEO of Dymag said: “Lightweight carbon hybrid wheels bring a vast array of benefits for vehicles – particularly EVs – with no development costs. Thanks to new investment from Hankuk Carbon, combined with the funding we have already received from the UK government and Puma Private Equity, we are now entering the next exciting phase in our journey, bringing our game-changing lightweight wheel technology to a wider audience of global automotive customers.”
Moonsoo Cho, chairman of Hankuk Carbon Group said: “The core objective of our strategic partnership with Dymag has always been to accelerate the growth in the global market potential for high performance carbon hybrid wheels. Building on our existing relationship, we have now become a strategic investor in Dymag, and with this investment we will be further leveraging Hankuk’s expertise in composite materials and industrialisation to automotive customers around the world.”
Lighter, stiffer and stronger than a traditional cast alloy wheel, Dymag’s carbon hybrid wheels bring huge advantages to all vehicle sectors, particularly electric vehicles.
Designed for high-performance vehicles, from sports cars to SUVs and pickups, the patented carbon hybrid wheel, which combine a carbon outer rim with a forged aluminium or magnesium centrepiece, delivers multiple gains for OEMs, the aftermarket and customers alike.
It is 40% lighter than a traditional cast alloy wheel, strength and durability are greatly improved, has potential to enhance EV range by around five percent, can reduce Noise Vehicle Harshness (NVH) and the hybrid carbon wheel brings greater design flexibility to the table.
Dymag offers a full range of 18-to-23-inch carbon hybrid wheels, to which it will add new 24-inch and 25-inch examples later this year.
More details can be found on their websites: https://hankukcomposite.com/ & https://dymag.com/.