Hankook Tire has been recognized by Ford Motor Company’s Q1 quality assessment and certification system in China, with its Jiangsu and Chongqing plants awarded the Ford Q1 supplier medal. The company said the awards represent the plants’ excellence in key areas such as technological innovation, product quality, service capabilities and improvement.

Ford said Q1 is the abbreviation of “Quality is No. 1” and represents the commitment to a quality-first approach. In recognition of the unique basic quality and manufacturing rules of Ford, the company says Q1 is a benchmark in the automotive industry that demonstrates the quality level of suppliers.

Hankook’s Jiangsu and Chongqing plants are the latest to earn Ford’s Q1 certification after the company’s Jiaxing factory first earned the title in 2005. Hankook Tire’s Jiangsu plant obtained the Ford Q1 certification for the first time in June 2009 and passed the assessment in 2023 under Ford’s updated criteria. Ford’s certification of Hankook’s three major factories in China represents the automaker’s high recognition of the quality of Hankook Tire.

Hankook Tire said its Jiangsu plant has been supplying North American Ford models since 2006 and has been supplying TBR tires to Ford’s US plant in batches since 2019, delivering a total of 125,000 products so far. Its Chongqing plant began supplying tires to Ford’s Taiwan plant in batches in September 2018, and has delivered a total of 47,549 products so far.