Laufenn Tyres in the UAE: An Honest Look at Hankook's Value Brand
"Is Laufenn a real brand, or is somebody copying Hankook?" That question reaches us most weeks — usually from a driver who has seen the price, decided the name looks vaguely Korean, and assumed there is a catch.
There isn't one, and the answer is simpler than most people expect. Laufenn is Hankook's own value brand, launched by Hankook in 2014, built in Hankook plants using Hankook's research. It sits deliberately below the Hankook badge on price and on outright performance. That's the whole story. But because Laufenn tyres in the UAE are still fairly new to a lot of drivers, the brand attracts more suspicion than it deserves.
We're the official Laufenn distributor for the UAE, so treat everything below with the appropriate pinch of salt — but we've also fitted enough of them, and warranted enough of them, to tell you honestly where they're strong and where they aren't.
Who actually makes Laufenn
Hankook has been making tyres in Korea since 1941 and supplies original-equipment tyres to several European and Korean carmakers. That is not a small operation. In 2014 they did what Toyota did with Lexus, only in reverse: they created a second badge to sit underneath the main one, so they could compete on price without dragging the Hankook name down with it.
The name comes from the German verb laufen, to run. The tyres come out of Hankook's own factories on Hankook's own tooling, and the compounds and tread patterns come from the same R&D people.
What's different is the target. A Hankook Ventus is engineered to chase the last few metres of wet braking distance and the last decibel of noise. A Laufenn is engineered to hit a price while staying safe, quiet enough and durable enough for normal driving. Simpler carcass construction, less exotic silica loading, fewer sizes with very high speed ratings. That's where the money is saved, and it's an honest saving rather than a hidden one.
The three lines, and which UAE driver each one suits
Laufenn keeps its naming refreshingly simple. There is also an I FIT winter line, which we obviously don't bring in. Three ranges matter here.
S FIT — the sporty one
S FIT is the performance line, usually seen as the S FIT EQ+. Asymmetric tread, stiffer shoulder blocks, higher speed ratings. This is what you want on a Camry, an Accord, a Sonata, a Golf, a 3 Series, or any saloon where you actually notice how the car turns in. It's the line we'd point you at if you drive Sheikh Zayed Road at speed every day and want steering that feels connected rather than vague.
G FIT — the quiet, cheap-to-run one
G FIT is the touring line. Symmetric tread, softer ride, lower rolling resistance, longer tread life. If your driving is a school run in Al Nahda, a commute to Dubai and a Carrefour trip on Friday, G FIT is the sensible buy. It is noticeably quieter than most budget tyres in the same price bracket, which is the thing people comment on most after fitting.
X FIT — SUVs and pickups
X FIT covers the 4x4 and light-commercial sizes: X FIT HT for highway SUV use, X FIT AT for all-terrain, X FIT VAN for load-carrying vans and pickups. The HT is the right choice for a Prado or Pajero that never leaves tarmac. The AT is for the guy who genuinely goes to Al Badayer at the weekend — chunkier blocks, tougher sidewall, more noise on the E11 as the price of that. If you're deflating for dune driving, read our desert driving guide before you let air out of anything.
Honestly compared: premium, Laufenn, and no-name
Against a genuine premium tyre — a Michelin Primacy, a Bridgestone Turanza, a Continental — a Laufenn will lose. It will stop a little longer in the wet, it will be a touch noisier at 120 km/h, and on a really hot day it will feel slightly less precise when you load it up in a corner. On a proper test track that gap is measurable and real.
On the road? On the road, day to day, that gap is hard to feel. Nobody brakes at full ABS threshold from 100 km/h on a wet road in Sharjah more than once or twice a year. What you'll notice day to day is comfort, noise and how long the tread lasts, and on those three the gap is small. Premium tyres are worth the money if you drive hard, carry a full family car at high speed, or simply want the best available. If that's the debate you're having with yourself, we've written about it in more detail.
Against a genuine no-name tyre — the sort of unfamiliar brand that appears on shelves for a season and disappears — the comparison goes the other way, hard. What you're really buying with Laufenn is:
- Consistency. A factory that makes millions of tyres a year to one specification. Two Laufenns of the same model bought a year apart behave the same.
- Heat durability. UAE road surfaces run past 50°C in July and August. Cheap compounds go off in that. Hankook has been selling into the Gulf for decades and specifies for it.
- Real sizes and real ratings. Load index and speed rating you can actually trust — worth understanding, and we've explained what those letters mean here.
- A warranty that exists. Which brings us to the next point.
Roughly, expect AED 200–400 a tyre for common 16- and 17-inch sizes, with larger SUV fitments above that. Prices on our site include VAT.
Warranty and availability — why the distributor matters
We are the official Laufenn distributor in the UAE, which is why we can hold the full size range rather than whatever a trader managed to buy cheaply, and why a manufacturing-defect claim gets handled by us directly instead of disappearing into somebody's WhatsApp.
A defect warranty covers manufacturing faults — separation, a bulge that appears without impact, an out-of-round tyre. It does not cover a nail, a kerb strike, or a sidewall you cut on a rock in Liwa. Keep your invoice, and bring the tyre to the branch rather than throwing it away, because we can't assess what we can't see.
Grey-market stock is the real risk with any value brand. Tyres imported for a cooler market, sat in a container for two years, arrive with a date code that eats a chunk of their useful life before you've driven a kilometre. Always check it — the DOT code tells you the week and year, and it takes ten seconds.
Buying Laufenn tyres in the UAE: getting it right
Three things, in order:
- Get the size from your own sidewall, not from a forum. Something like 225/65R17. If the string means nothing to you, here's how to read it.
- Match or exceed the load index and speed rating on your door placard. On a loaded 4x4 in summer this is not optional.
- Pick the line for how you drive, not for the badge. A G FIT on a commuter car beats an S FIT you never use.
You can browse the full Laufenn range here, or filter the whole catalogue by your size. Minimum order is two tyres — we won't fit one new tyre against three worn ones, because it upsets the balance of the car.
Frequently asked questions
Is Laufenn the same as Hankook?
No, but it is made by Hankook. Laufenn is Hankook's value brand, launched in 2014, produced in Hankook factories using the same research and development. It's positioned below the Hankook badge on price and on outright performance, with simpler construction and compounds. Think of it as the same company building to a lower price point, openly.
Are Laufenn tyres good for UAE summer heat?
Yes, for normal road use. Hankook has supplied Gulf markets for decades and specifies compounds that hold up at 50°C road temperatures. Heat kills tyres mainly through under-inflation and age, not brand, so check your pressures monthly when cold and replace anything older than about five or six years regardless of tread depth.
How long do Laufenn tyres last in the UAE?
Typically three to four years of normal driving, or roughly 30,000–45,000 km in UAE conditions, with G FIT usually lasting longest and X FIT AT the shortest. Treat any mileage figure as a guide, not a tread-life guarantee — it is not covered by the warranty. Heat, alignment and pressure matter more than brand. A car pulling to one side will destroy a set of any tyre in a year, so get the alignment checked when you fit.
Where can I buy Laufenn tyres in the UAE?
From us, directly. GCCO is the official Laufenn distributor in the UAE, so we stock the full size range across the S FIT, G FIT and X FIT lines. Order online for delivery anywhere in the country, or collect at a branch and get the fitting done free while you wait.
Which Laufenn line should I buy for my SUV?
X FIT HT if your SUV stays on tarmac, which covers most drivers. X FIT AT only if you genuinely go off-road or into the dunes — it's tougher but noisier and wears faster on highways. For a loaded pickup or van used for work, X FIT VAN carries the load ratings you need.
If you're not sure which line or size fits your car, just ask. Send us the photo of your sidewall on WhatsApp at +971 800 525, call the branch on +971 6 561 6004 or toll free 800 525, or come into us on Al Nahda Street, Industrial Area 8 in Sharjah — we're open every day from 9 AM to 10 PM. Fitting, balancing and a pressure check are free when you collect, and you can see the full range at Laufenn on gcco.ae or find your nearest branch here.