During its press conference at the International Motor Show (IAA) Commercial Vehicles in Hanover international tire manufacturer and automotive supplier Continental presented the latest developments and trends within its commercial vehicle business.
Continental is continuing to pursue its growth strategy in the commercial vehicle business, as 20 of its 28 business units from all five divisions are active in this field. Building on its competencies in the tire and automotive sector, Continental is increasingly becoming a solution provider. “As a premium tire manufacturer and the biggest electronics supplier in the automotive industry with a strong technological product portfolio, we are in a perfect position to develop integrated solutions for our customers in the transport industry,” says Nikolai Setzer, member of the Executive Board of Continental and responsible for the Tire Division. This was also an important next step for Continental’s commercial vehicle tire business, which has been complementing its core offer, the product tires, with services for professional tire management for a number of years now.
Michael Ruf, who is heading up the Commercial Vehicles & Aftermarket business of Continental, underlined the importance of intelligent commercial vehicles for the transport of people and goods: “We are offering products, services and solutions, which bring this intelligence to the vehicles and thus make business more efficient for our customers.” One example for this is the ProViu Mirror forward-looking camera system, which is the revolutionary alternative to exterior mirrors.
Efficiency and lowest overall driving cost for fleets were the driving force behind the product offensive that Continental started for its truck and bus tires in 2013. In 2014, Continental continues this launch of its Generation 3 tires with the important goods transport segment. Constantin Batsch, responsible for the truck and bus tire business in the region Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA), stressed that Continental has raised the bar with its Generation 3 tires: “Despite a multitude of requirements, we were able to significantly shorten the time from idea to market. Thus, we were successful in bringing our to-date most extensive product portfolio to the market at record speed.” During the development phase, special emphasis was put on the specific needs of the transport industry. Generation 3 truck tires, the tire pressure monitoring system ContiPressureCheck for trucks and trailers, as well as the Conti360° Fleet Services enable fleet operators to achieve lowest overall driving costs.
With sales of around €33.3 billion in 2013, Continental is among the leading automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systems and components for powertrains and chassis, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires and technical elastomers, Continental contributes to enhanced driving safety and global climate protection. Continental is also an expert partner in networked automobile communication. Continental currently employs more than 186,000 people in 49 countries.
As one of the world’s leading tire manufacturers, with more than 44,000 employees, the Tire division achieved sales of €9.6 billion in 2013. Today, the division has 24 production and development locations worldwide. The broad product range and continuous investments in R&D make a major contribution to cost-effective and ecologically efficient mobility.
The Commercial Vehicle Tire business is one of the largest manufacturers of truck, bus and commercial specialty tires worldwide.