Kumho tires
Korean value brand with a Georgia plant and OE contracts. Typically $70–$190 per tire.
Find Kumho tires for your car
Type your size or your vehicle and we show what Kumho makes for it. Suggestions appear after two characters.
Kumho Tire was founded in Gwangju, South Korea in 1960 and is Korea's second-largest tire maker after Hankook. Since 2018 its controlling shareholder has been China's Doublestar Group, though the company still operates from Korea. Kumho has built tires in Macon, Georgia since 2016 and supplies original equipment to Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Volkswagen and others.
Kumho competes on price. Its tires typically cost 25 to 35 percent less than the premium brands while delivering performance that, in independent tests, lands in the middle of the pack. The Solus TA51a is a touring all-season with a 75,000-mile warranty, the Crugen HT51 is a highway tire for pickups and SUVs with a 70,000-mile warranty, the Road Venture AT52 is a decent all-terrain, and the Ecsta line covers performance, with the PA51 as the all-season and the PS31 as the summer tire. The Solus 4S HA32 is an all-weather option and the WinterCraft WP72 handles snow.
Warranties are generous for the price. The honest trade-offs are that wet grip and noise on the cheaper Kumho tires trail the premium brands, and the dealer network is smaller. For a commuter car or a second vehicle that does not see extreme conditions, Kumho is a sensible choice.
$80 prepaid Mastercard on 4 select tires
$80 prepaid Mastercard on a set of four select Kumho tires bought 9/1-10/31/2026; Tire Agent lists the submission deadline as 11/30/2026 while some retailer pages say 10/31 - use the manufacturer form date. Listed by SimpleTire, Tires-easy, Giga-tires, TireBuyer and Tire Agent. Ends Oct 31, 2026.
Kumho models worth buying
| Model | Type | Mileage warranty | From | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crugen HT51 | Highway Truck & SUV Tires | 70,000 mi | $120 | Pickups and SUVs that want a long-wearing highway tire for less than the big brands. |
| Solus TA51a | All-Season Tires | 75,000 mi | $90 | Commuter sedans and minivans that want a quiet touring tire on a tight budget. |
| Ecsta PA51 | Performance Tires | 45,000 mi | $100 | Sporty sedans and coupes that want UHP all-season grip for less. |
| Road Venture AT52 | All-Terrain Tires | 55,000 mi | $150 | Pickups and SUVs that need an affordable all-terrain with the 3PMSF symbol. |
| Solus 4S HA32 | All-Weather Tires | 55,000 mi | $100 | Budget-minded drivers in snow states who want one tire year-round. |
| Ecsta PS31 | Summer Tires | None | $80 | Civics, GTIs and Miatas that want an inexpensive summer performance tire. |
| WinterCraft WP72 | Winter Tires | None | $100 | Sedans and crossovers that need a basic studless winter tire at a low price. |
Strengths
- Low prices with long mileage warranties
- Macon, Georgia plant builds many popular sizes
- Original equipment on Hyundai, Kia and Genesis
Weaknesses
- Wet braking and noise trail the premium brands
- Smaller dealer network for warranty service
Kumho as a company
Made in the US at: Macon, Georgia.
Kumho Tire U.S.A., Inc. is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and handles US sales, marketing and distribution, while the group's single American factory is in Macon, Georgia, opened in 2016 with capacity of roughly 3.5 million tires a year. Kumho has exported to the US since the 1970s and opened a technical center in Akron, Ohio in 1990. It supplies original equipment to a number of automakers and sells replacement tires through independent dealers, national service chains and online retailers, mostly in the value-to-midrange price band.
Revenue and operating margin are consolidated group figures for fiscal 2025: KRW 4,701.3 billion of revenue and KRW 575.5 billion of operating profit (12.2%), both records for the company; converted at 1,450 KRW/USD. Employees: 10,311, the group headcount carried in Kumho's company data alongside its 2025 results - note that Tire Business's Global Tire Report implies a much smaller reporting entity (its industry-leading $599,892 of tire sales per employee against $3,320.0 million of tire sales implies roughly 5,500 employees), so the two figures are on different bases. Annual production of about 65 million tires across Korea, China, Vietnam and the US is the figure cited in trade coverage of the May 2025 Gwangju fire and is consistent with summing the eight plants' nameplate capacities in the Global Tire Report plant tables (about 64 million); production in tonnes is not published. Rank and market share are from the Global Tire Report 2025 (fiscal 2024 tire sales of $3,320.0 million against the $180.2 billion Top 75 aggregate). Headquarters: Kumho's registered home and main plant are in Gwangju while its principal office is in Seoul, which is why Tire Business lists it as Seoul.
Kumho through the years
- 1960Founded in Gwangju, South Korea as Samyang Tire.
- 2009Placed under a creditor-led debt restructuring program after the Kumho Asiana group's financial troubles.
- 2016Opened its first US factory, in Macon, Georgia.
- 2018China's Qingdao Doublestar completed the purchase of a 45% stake for $607 million, taking management control.
- 2025A major fire in May destroyed much of the Gwangju plant, and in December Kumho picked Opole, Poland for its first European factory.
Did you know?
- Kumho's Macon, Georgia plant opened in 2016 and is rated at about 3.5 million tires a year - small next to the Korean plants, but it means some Kumho tires sold in the US are US-made.
- Kumho has been under Chinese control since 2018, when Qingdao Doublestar bought about 45% of the company and took over management, while the brand stayed Korean.
- A fire in May 2025 destroyed 50-60% of the production lines in one building at the Gwangju plant, which alone accounted for roughly a fifth of Kumho's 65 million annual tires; the company has since chosen Opole, Poland for its ninth factory.
Kumho tires: common questions
Are Kumho tires any good?
They are decent mid-tier tires that compete on price rather than performance. Kumho supplies original equipment to Hyundai, Kia and Volkswagen, which requires meeting strict standards. Independent tests place its better models in the middle of the pack, with wet braking and noise being the areas where it gives up ground to the premium brands.
Where are Kumho tires made?
Kumho builds many US-market sizes at its plant in Macon, Georgia. Other sizes come from South Korea, Vietnam or China. The DOT code on the sidewall identifies the factory.
Who owns Kumho?
China's Doublestar Group has been the controlling shareholder since 2018, when it rescued the company from financial trouble. Kumho is still headquartered in Korea and run as a Korean company, and it kept its OE contracts and its Georgia plant.