Hannover-based Continental AG is a leading automotive supplier and – according to the company – is “the choice of leading car manufacturers, offering award-winning tyres that deliver responsive braking in all weather conditions.”
According to Continental, the habour tyre range it unveiled at the TOC Container Supply Chain Europe exhibition in Rotterdam in July has struck a chord with port operators. The company claims that more than half the respondents to a recent survey plan to purchase or recommend the newly-released range.
Over the last decade or so Continental has focused heavily on its automotive businesses, and with an annual turnover of 32.76 billion euros it today ranks as the world’s third largest automotive supplier (behind Denso and Robert Bosch). But now the pendulum is swinging the other way. During a recent press conference, Nikolai Setzer outlined the company’s current strategy of investing into non-automotive areas in order to balance Continental’s footprint. The Tire division head also said investment is being undertaken to reduce vulnerability to automotive sector downturns.
Schaeffler Holding and Schaeffler AG have announced that the companies have placed roughly 4 per cent of Continental shares with a range of investors. According to a statement issued by Schaeffler group, net proceeds will be used to pay down debt as well as additional reduction of debt from excess cash flow. However, the company re-affirmed that Continental AG remains a long-term strategic shareholding.
Continental has placed another €750 million Eurobond with institutional and retail investors; the company says it chose to do so in order to take advantage of “the current positive capital market environment as well as the momentum of its previous bond transactions.”
Effective from the 1 September Continental AG has merged its Suspension Systems and Chassis Electronics segments into the Electronic Brake Systems business unit from the Chassis Components unit, which has been dissolved as far as an organizational structure is concerned. In line with the move the Electronic Brake Systems unit has been renamed Vehicle Dynamics.
ContiTrade Africa, a newly founded entity of Conti Global Holding, has bought eight Jody’s Tyre Group fitment stores in Johannesburg, South Africa. ContiTrade Africa is responsible for franchise and retail operations in Africa with two main systems, FIT&GO and Best Drive – some of which are company owned while others are franchise stores. Of the eight stores recently acquired three will be converted into FIT&GO and four into Best Drive with one store trading by the name, Jody’s Tyres.
Continental's ContiSportContact 5 has come out on top in the demanding tyre test carried out by leading car magazine Auto Express. The Auto Express test celebrates the best of the best in the tyre market, highlighting exceptional performance, quality, safety, desirability and value. It is seen within the motoring industry as a stamp of approval offering motoring enthusiasts confidence when looking for their next tyre purchase.
Continental AG has placed a 750 million euro Eurobond with institutional and retail investors. According to the company, the aim of the move is to reduce the firm’s interest costs. The bond issued by Continental under its Debt Issuance Program established in May has a term of seven years and an interest rate of 3.125 per cent per annum. Interest will be payable annually in arrears. The issue price is 99.228 per cent.
Continental Tyres recently invited Mercedes-Benz World representatives and driving instructors to experience its Contidrom testing facility in Hanover, Germany. Utilising Contidrom’s 2km wet handling track, Continental set out to demonstrate the difference between premium and budget tyres on a Mercedes-Benz C-Class among other tests.
Continental says its tyre management procedures are helping one Northern Ireland transport and logistics business to achieve significant savings. Surefreight, one of the leading logistics companies operating between Ireland, Britain and mainland Europe, turned to Continental for support last year, resulting in its annual spend on tyres falling by £59,000 when compared with 2011.
Motorists in Brazil, host country for next year’s World Cup, now have the chance to buy an officially-endorsed commemorative tyre. Continental has launched a World Cup edition of its ContiPowerContact, complete with footballs and FIFI World Cup logo on the sidewall. The tyre’s release is being supplemented by an extensive advertising campaign in print and electronic media, radio and television.
Continental has appointed Matthias Matic as its new Hydraulic Brake Systems Business Unit head, part of the Continental Chassis & Safety Division, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. Matic moves from his current position as Chassis Components Business Unit head on 1 September, succeeding Peter Laier who has assumed a position on the executive board of a German light manufacturer. “I’m looking forward to the new challenge. Hydraulic brake systems have proven their worth a million times over; they’re a key component of automotive safety. Friction brakes will continue to be an important topic for the foreseeable future”, said Matic.
Continental has been working on automated driving systems for some time now, and began open road trials of this technology early last year. It also entered into a research partnership with BMW to develop an ‘electronic co-pilot’ in January 2013. The German firm is now extending its collaborative activities; the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper shared on 21 August that Continental intends to develop self-driving cars together with IBM and Google.
Continental Tire the Americas’ head of Commercial Vehicle Tire sales, Javier Mendoza, has taken on a new role within the company. On 1 August, he began as head of the CAMEXCA (Mexico, Caribbean and Central America) market for Continental Tire de Mexico. In addition to this role, he also will be responsible for heading up the company’s Passenger and Light Truck tyre replacement sales business.
Driving across Europe requires drivers to conform to a number of different local laws and regulations – the legal requirement to fit winter tyres in northern European countries including Germany in cold season conditions will be a familiar one to readers of Tyrepress.com. However a new survey by the ColinAppleyard.com car dealership chain suggests that nearly every British driver would break at least one national motoring regulation. The chain said that many British drivers are not only unaware of speed limits on foreign roads, but also of other vital regulations such as mandatory safety equipment.
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