Hana RFID Appoints Yi Cao to Expand Global Automotive Business
Hana RFID has appointed Yi Cao as Senior Director – Global Automotive to accelerate the adoption of RFID technology across the automotive industry. Building on nearly 300 million embedded tire tags, the company aims to expand its RFID inlay business into vehicle components, manufacturing processes and automotive supply chains.
Hana Technologies (Hana RFID) announced the appointment of Yi Cao as Senior Director – Global Automotive on November 2, 2026. In his new role, Cao will oversee the global expansion of Hana's automotive RFID business, working with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), system integrators and technology partners.
The appointment supports Hana's strategy to extend its established position in RFID-enabled tire identification into broader automotive applications. The company has supplied nearly 300 million embedded tire tags to date and now intends to apply its RFID expertise to component identification, assembly automation and supply chain traceability.
From Tire Identification to Automotive Manufacturing
Hana's embeddable RFID tire tags enable individual tires to be identified and tracked throughout manufacturing and subsequent lifecycle stages. The company sees opportunities to extend this approach to other automotive components and production processes.
Its broader RFID inlay portfolio can support automated identification, inventory management, component traceability and data capture across manufacturing and logistics operations.
“Bringing RFID into the broader automotive industry is the next natural step for Hana,” said Tony Morris, Senior Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing at Hana RFID.
Morris emphasized that the company's experience with embedded tire tags provides a foundation for addressing the automotive industry's requirements for accuracy, reliability and automation.
More Than 20 Years of Automotive and RFID Experience
Yi Cao brings more than two decades of international experience in corporate strategy, digital transformation, automotive manufacturing and industrial IoT.
Before joining Hana, he served as General Manager and Senior Director of Identification Solutions Asia at Avery Dennison, where he led commercial strategy and RFID business development across China, Japan and Korea. He also held a senior corporate strategy and M&A role within Avery Dennison's Materials Group in North Asia.
His previous automotive consulting experience includes assignments at Porsche Consulting and McKinsey & Company, where he worked on electric vehicle launches, quality strategies and market development projects for automotive manufacturers including Ford and Jaguar Land Rover.
“The automotive industry is changing fast. Vehicles are more connected, sustainability and regulatory demands keep rising, and manufacturers are under pressure to run leaner,” said Cao.
He sees RFID as a foundation for connecting product identification and lifecycle data across automotive manufacturing and supply chains.
Supporting Traceability and Digital Product Passports
Hana's expansion into the wider automotive market also creates opportunities in lifecycle traceability and Digital Product Passport (DPP) applications.
RFID enables physical components to be linked to digital records, supporting automated data collection during production, logistics and subsequent lifecycle stages. In tire manufacturing, embedded tags provide a persistent identification mechanism that can help connect individual products with manufacturing and traceability information.
Beyond tire identification, Hana intends to expand the use of its RFID inlays across automotive production and supply chain applications.
Hana RFID manufactures RFID tire tags and inlays for industries including automotive, retail, logistics, healthcare and aviation. The company is one of six manufacturers worldwide with ARC-certified RFID inlay production and supports multiple RFID chip platforms, including those from Impinj and NXP.
Further information: https://hanarfid.com/insights/news/hana-rfid-appoints-yi-cao-as-senior-director/