Company type | Public |
---|---|
ISIN | DE0005439004 |
Industry | |
Predecessor | Englebert |
Founded | 8 October 1871 |
Headquarters | |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
|
Products | Tires, brake systems, powertrains, chassis components, automotive safety, vehicle electronics [1] |
Revenue | €41.42 billion (2023) |
€1.854 billion (2023) | |
€1.156 billion (2023) | |
Total assets | €37.75 billion (2023) |
Total equity | €13.68 billion (2023) |
Owner | Schaeffler Group (46%) |
Number of employees | 202,763 (2023) |
Subsidiaries | |
Website | continental.com |
Footnotes /references [2] |
Continental AG, commonly known as Continental or colloquially as Conti, [3] is a German multinational automotive parts manufacturing company that specializes in tires, brake systems vehicle electronics, automotive safety, powertrain, chassis components, tachographs, and other parts for the automotive and transportation industries. Continental is structured into six divisions: Chassis and Safety, Powertrain, Interior, Tires, ContiTech, ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems). It is headquartered in Hanover, Lower Saxony. Continental is the world's third-largest automotive supplier and the fourth-largest tire manufacturer. [4]
Continental sells tires for automobiles, motorcycles, and bicycles worldwide under the Continental brand. It also produces and sells other brands with more select distribution, such as Viking (limited global presence), [5] General Tire (U.S./Canada), Gislaved Tires (Canada, Spain, Nordic Markets), Semperit Tyres, Barum to serve EU & Russia. Other brands are Uniroyal (Europe), Sportiva, Mabor and Matador [6] and formerly Sime/Simex tyres (now Dunlop Tyres Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei). [7] Continental's customers include all major automobile, truck and bus producers, such as Volkswagen, Daimler AG, BharatBenz, Ford, Volvo, Iveco, Schmitz, Koegel, Freightliner Trucks, BMW, General Motors, Toyota, Honda, Renault, PSA and Porsche. [8] [9]
Continental was founded in 1871 as a rubber manufacturer, Continental-Caoutchouc und Gutta-Percha Compagnie. [10] In 1898, Continental began development and production of the vehicle tires with plain tread, which was a major success for the brand. In 1904, Continental became the first company in the world to manufacture grooved vehicle tires. [11] Another major product Continental invented was a detachable wheel tire that was made for touring vehicles (1905). From about 1910, synthetic rubber started to play a major role in car tire production, and one of its earliest proponents was chemist Albert Gerlach (1858-1918), member of the executive board. [12] In the late 1920s, Continental merged with several other major rubber industry companies to form the largest rubber company in Germany "Continental Gummi-Werke AG".
When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, all members of the Board of Management as well as the authorized signatories and directors of the second management level were obliged to join the Nazi party, the Works Council was purged of "opponents of the regime," and all Jewish members of the Supervisory Board were forced to resign. As early as the end of 1933, the Executive Board said Continental was now "a Christian and purely German company". [13] [14]
As with many other German companies during World War II, Continental used slave labor provided by the Nazi Party in their factories in the 1940s at Hannover-Stöcken, [15] Hannover-Limmer, [16] Hannover-Ahlem, [17] and others, all offshoots of the Neuengamme concentration camp. [18]
Continental teamed up with FATE in 1999 for the production of tires for cars, trucks, and buses in Argentina [19] and exportation of the San Fernando plant's production to the rest of South America. [20]
In 2001, Continental acquired a controlling interest in Temic, DaimlerChrysler's automotive-electronics business, which is now part of Continental Automotive Systems. The company also purchased German automotive rubber and plastics company Phoenix AG in 2004, and the automotive electronics unit of Motorola in 2006. [21] Continental acquired Siemens VDO from Siemens AG in 2007. [22] Also in 2007, the company began to construct a plant in Costa Rica to produce powertrain components for North America. The plant was to open in two phases and ultimately employ 550 workers. [9]
In 2008, Continental appeared overextended with its integration of VDO and had since lost almost half of its market capitalisation when it found itself to be the hostile takeover target of the family-owned Schaeffler AG. [23] By 2009, Schaeffler successfully installed the head of its motor division at the helm of Continental. [24]
Continental was ranked third in global OEM automotive parts sales in 2012 according to a study sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers. [25] On 6 September 2012, Continental returned to the benchmark DAX index of 30 selected German blue chip stocks after a 45-month absence. [26] IHO Group (investment holding of the Schaeffler family) is the controlling shareholder and currently owns 46% of Continental shares. [27] In November 2018, Continental purchased Kmart Tyre & Auto Service in Australia from Wesfarmers for A$350 million. [28]
In 2017 Continental signed a partnership to be the Tour de France official tire sponsor till 2027. [29]
On 13 November 2020, it was announced that Nikolai Setzer would take over as CEO following the short-notice resignation of Elmar Degenhart. [30]
In February 2021, Continental announced that it acquired a minority stake in Recogni, a German-U.S. start-up, to advance its autonomous driving technology. The start-up is working on a new chip architecture for object recognition in real time based on artificial intelligence. [31]
In December 2021, as a result of a diplomatic spat between Lithuania and China over Taiwan and human rights, China pressured Continental AG to stop doing business with Lithuania. [32] [33]
In April 2022, Continental resumed production of tires in Russia despite International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War due to 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. [34]
In February 2024, Continental AG cut around 7,150 positions in its auto unit. [35]
The Interior Division is organised under the following five business units: [36]
Body & Security is leading the development of vehicle electronics and cabin control systems, [37] with R&D locations in Germany, United States, China, Singapore, Mexico, India, and many other locations around the world, allowing a global reach to nearly every market region. [38]
When Continental decided to purchase ITT Industries' brake and chassis business for $1.93 billion in 1998, [39] the head of ITT's brake division, Juergen M. Geissinger, was hired as the CEO of the family-owned bearing and auto parts manufacturer Schaeffler Group. [40]
Ten years later, Geissinger returned to Continental with mother-and-son owners Maria-Elisabeth and Georg Schaeffler and a consortium of banks, to buy control of the company. [41] Continental appeared to have overextended itself with the acquisition of Siemens' VDO automotive unit in 2007 for €11.4 billion [42] and had lost almost half of its market capitalisation since. [23]
In August 2008 and after a protracted standoff, Continental agreed to be taken over by the Schaeffler Group in a deal that valued the company at approximately €12 billion. [43] Schaeffler in return agreed to limit its position to less than 50% for a period of four years and support Continental's ongoing strategy. This arrangement was overseen by former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. [44] Continental's CEO Manfred Wennemer, who had opposed Schaeffler's offer, resigned and was succeeded by Karl-Thomas Neumann on 1 September 2008. [45] Less than one year later, Schaeffler's CEO Juergen Geissinger succeeded in installing his longtime confidant (and former leader and later head of ITT Teves/Continental Brake and Chassis Division) Elmar Degenhart, the head of his automotive division, as the new chief executive of Continental, ousting Neumann. [24] At Continental's 2013 annual shareholder meeting Schaeffler gave notice that it will terminate its mutual investment agreement with Continental in May 2014, [46] on which Elmar Degenhart commented, "Notice of termination of the investment agreement is understandable from the vantage point of Schaeffler, our anchor shareholder. We are confident that the two companies will continue their very good and goal-oriented cooperation on into the future." [46]
Continental Tire entered the North American tire industry with its 1987 purchase of General Tire from GenCorp, Inc., forming Continental General Tire Corp. [47] At the time, Continental was following other tire manufacturers, such as Bridgestone and Michelin, into the American tire market.
The headquarters for North and South American tire divisions is located in the Charlotte metropolitan area at Fort Mill, South Carolina, United States. The North American headquarters of the CAS division is located in Auburn Hills, Michigan, directly east of the Great Lakes Crossing Mall. Continental also has a research and development arm in the tech-heavy Silicon Valley, where, among other things, the company focuses on developing technologies supporting autonomous driving vehicles.
From 2002 through 2005, the subsidiary sponsored a new college football bowl game in Charlotte, North Carolina, known for three playings as the Continental Tire Bowl at Bank of America Stadium. At the time, Continental was a major employer in Charlotte. However, as financial woes set in at the division Meineke Car Care Center took over sponsorship of the Charlotte bowl game from Continental. The first two Continental Tire Bowls were both won by Virginia; the third and final (by that name) edition of the bowl was won by Boston College.
The subsidiary announced that effective 1 January 2006, it would implement massive cuts on health care for retirees across the country. After a class-action lawsuit, the company and United Steelworkers union, representing the retirees, agreed to a settlement whereby the company would continue to fund benefits. [48] Later that year, it announced it would cease tire production in Charlotte [49] and would close its tire production plant in Mayfield, Kentucky. [50]
In 2011, CTA announced that it would build a plant in Sumter, South Carolina. The plant will cost about $500 million and employ 1,600 workers by 2020. [51]
In February 2016, CTA announced that it would build a Commercial Tire plant in Clinton, Mississippi, with an investment totaling approximately $1.4 billion and employing 2,500 people when the plant reaches full capacity in the next decade.[ citation needed ]
In October 2016, CTA purchased Hoosier Racing Tire.
Continental was one of the companies bidding to work with General Motors to provide the battery pack for the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV). [52] It is the primary contractor for a system using lithium-ion batteries from A123 Systems. General Motors instead signed a contract to assemble packs with cells purchased from Compact Power. [53]
Continental continues to look at developments and innovation in the field of Automotive electrical-energy storage systems. These include developing solutions for gasoline and diesel driven engines as well as the rapidly-developing area of electrified systems. By offering a comprehensive technology toolkit to auto manufacturers, they enable these manufacturers to develop customised electrification in their vehicles, resulting in more efficient systems that produce lower emissions. [54]
In April 2016, Continental AG together with Honda's U.S. subsidiary, were honored with the 2016 Automotive News PACE Innovation Partnership Award [55] for the Bidirectional Long Range Communications (BLRC) System, developed by the Body and Security Team in the Interior Division. [56] The Radio Frequency Device, helps the car user to operate a remote control key fob from more than half a kilometer away, to start the engine and climate control function, while receiving feedback from the vehicle (such as locked/unlocked). The Radio Frequency System, powered by a single standard coin cell, and an innovative vehicle-mounted RF transceiver, was developed together by Honda and Continental, and was debuted on the Acura MDX in 2013 and was quickly followed by the Acura TLX and Acura RLX in 2014.
In 2015, Continental AG was honored with two PACE Awards for its Bare Die High-Density-Interconnect (BD-HDI) Printed Circuit Board Substrate Technology for Transmission Electronics [57] and its Multi-application Unified Sensor Element (MUSE). [58] In 2018, Continental won a PACE (Premier Automotive Suppliers' Contribution to Excellence) Award for its Digital Micromirror Head-Up Display technology. Along with Audi, Continental also received an Innovation Partnership Award for their Safety Domain Control Unit (SDCU). [59]
In 2020, Continental won an inaugural PACEpilot award for its Virtual A-Pillar technology that helps to eliminate forward blind spots. PACEpilot is an offshoot of the long-standing PACE awards, and the programmes seeks to recognise innovations in automative technology that have moved to the working model phase of testing. [60]
'*' Denotes labor representative [62]
Continental AG has acquired the American rubber company Veyance Technologies, Inc. based in Fairlawn, Ohio. Veyance will be integrated into the company's ContiTech division, and will serve as the regional home office for ContiTech in North America.
The Brazilian antitrust authority Council for Economic Defence (CADE) made it official on 29 January 2015, described in a press release on the 30th, from the company. The total transition was $1.6 billion. The company will divest Veyance's NAFTA air springs business in Mexico and its Brazilian steel-cord belting business in response to some of the concerns raised by antitrust authorities, the release said, employing about 600 people work in those operations. [63]
Michelin, in full Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin SCA, is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes région of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and larger than both Goodyear and Continental. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the Kléber tyres company, Uniroyal-Goodrich Tire Company, SASCAR, Bookatable and Camso brands. Michelin is also notable for its Red and Green travel guides, its roadmaps, the Michelin stars that the Red Guide awards to restaurants for their cooking, and for its company mascot Bibendum, colloquially known as the Michelin Man, who is a humanoid consisting of tyres.
Robert Bosch GmbH, commonly known as Bosch, is a German multinational engineering and technology company headquartered in Gerlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company was founded by Robert Bosch in Stuttgart in 1886. Bosch is 94% owned by the Robert Bosch Stiftung, a charitable institution. Although the charity is funded by owning the vast majority of shares, it has no voting rights and is involved in health and social causes unrelated to Bosch's business.
Continental may refer to:
Bridgestone Corporation is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of ishibashi (石橋), meaning 'stone bridge' in Japanese. It primarily manufactures tires, as well as golf equipment.
Rheinmetall AG is a German automotive and arms manufacturer, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. The Group was promoted to the DAX, Germany's leading share index, in March 2023. It is the fifth largest arms manufacturer in Europe, and produces a variety of armored fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, in both wheeled and tracked versions. Its name is derived from the German-language words Rhein and Metall, translating to "Rhinemetal" when combined.
VDO is a German brand of Continental Automotive which makes automotive electronics and mechatronics for powertrains, engine management systems and fuel injection systems. A full range of Tachograph, Data Management, and Telematics products are produced. VDO has also supplied components for pleasure boats, yachts and sailing boats since 1958. In 2018 the marine business was separated into VDO Marine, offering products made by Swiss manufacture Veratron AG.
Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Schaeffler is a German billionaire businessman and owner of 80% of the holding company INA Holding Schaeffler GmbH & Co. KG, which includes the manufacturer of rolling element bearings Schaeffler AG. His mother, Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler, owns the other 20%. Both inherited their fortune from Schaeffler's father, Georg Schaeffler, who died in 1996. Schaeffler is the head of the supervisory board of Schaeffler Group and a member of the supervisory board of Continental AG. As of May 2023, Schaeffler was ranked by Forbes as the 171st richest person in the world, with a net worth of $10.2 billion.
Continental Automotive Systems (CAS), founded in 1906 by Alfred Teves, a division of the German Continental AG, was a brake and electronics supplier to the automotive industry, supplying systems, components, electronics, lithium-ion batteries and engineering services for vehicle safety, comfort and powertrain performance. Its sales top €4.6 billion.
The PACE Award is an annual award from Automotive News. The focus of the award is an innovation (i) developed primarily by a supplier, (ii) that is new to the automotive industry, (iii) that is in use, and (iv) that "changes the rules of the game". Awards have been given for products, materials, processes, capital equipment, software and services. A panel of independent judges from industry, finance, research, and academia choose finalists from the initial applicants, make site visits to evaluate the innovation, and then gather to select winners, independent of the sponsors. Winners to date include suppliers from Japan, Korea, China, the US, Canada, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy, Poland and other European countries. Among the most awarded companies over the years are BorgWarner, Delphi Automotive, Federal-Mogul, Valeo and PPG Industries as well as Robert Bosch GmbH, Gentex Corporation, and Siemens.
IAV GmbH Ingenieurgesellschaft Auto und Verkehr,, abbreviated to IAV GmbH, is an engineering company in the automotive industry, designing products for powertrain, electronics and vehicle development. Founded in Berlin in 1983 by Prof. Dr. Hermann Appel as a university-affiliated research institute, the company employs over 8,000 members of staff, and supplies automobile manufacturers and component suppliers. In addition to development centres in Berlin, Chemnitz and Gifhorn, IAV operates at sites in France, United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, China, Japan, South Korea, Brazil and the United States.
Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG, also known as the Schaeffler Group, is a German manufacturer of rolling element bearings for automotive, aerospace and industrial uses. It was founded in 1946 by brothers Dr. Wilhelm and Dr.-Ing. E. h. Georg Schaeffler.
Motometer is a brand, known for measuring and displaying instruments for workshops and vehicle equipment. The originally independent company was founded at the beginning of the 20th century in the area of Stuttgart. Until its insolvency in 1995, the Moto Meter AG was listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
Benecke-Kaliko AG, based in Hanover, develops and manufactures technical and decorative surface materials made of plastics. Since 2017, it presents itself under the Continental brand.
Jürgen M. Geissinger is a German technology business executive and chief executive officer of Senvion S.A., a Hamburg-based wind turbine manufacturer. Geissinger is best known for his role as the Chief Executive of Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG, a technology conglomerate known for its bearing solutions and precision components for engine and transmission systems for automotive, as well as industrial and aerospace applications. During Geissinger’s tenure as CEO, annual sales have risen more than fivefold. Schaeffler AG, employing over 76,000 people across 180 locations in 50 countries, with annual sales of $14 billion, is also the controlling shareholder of Continental AG with 49.9% of its shares.
Delticom AG is a listed company based in Hanover. It operates 140 online shops in 42 countries selling car and motor cycle tyres and a range of accessories to both private and corporate customers. Delticom is Europe's largest online tyre retailer with sales of over €500 million per year.
Elmar Walter Degenhart is a German manager and was chairman of the Board of Continental AG from August 2009 to November 2020.
Howden Turbo GmbH is a German engineering company, based in Frankenthal in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The company was formed after Colfax Corporation acquired Siemens Turbomachinery Equipment GmbH (STE) from Siemens in October 2017 for €195 million. The old brand name Kühnle, Kopp & Kausch has been returned to use. The Kühnle, Kopp & Kausch AG was a German mechanical engineering company based in Frankenthal. The company was acquired by Siemens and bore the name Siemens Turbomachinery Equipment GmbH (STE) until 2017. The company was renamed Howden Turbo GmbH through the sale to Colfax Corporation and Howden.
Vitesco Technologies Group AG, headquartered in Regensburg, is a German automotive supplier for drivetrain and powertrain technologies. Vitesco Technologies was a business area of Continental AG until it became independent in September 2021. The company develops devices for electric vehicles as well as internal combustion engines.
Sabrina Soussan is an engineer and manager of French and German nationality. Until 31 December 2021, Soussan has been CEO of dormakaba Holding AG, a global group in the access industry based in Switzerland. She took her new position of Chief Executive Officer of SUEZ on the 1st February 2022. She was appointed Chairman and CEO on the 1st August 2022.
Nicht nur seien sofort danach »sämtliche Vorstandskollegen sowie die Prokuristen beziehungsweise Direktoren der zweiten Führungsebene zum sofortigen Eintritt in die NSDAP« verpflichtet, der Betriebsrat von »Regimegegnern« gesäubert und in den ersten beiden Jahren etwa eine Million Reichsmark an diverse NS-Organisationen gespendet, sondern auch alle jüdischen Aufsichtsratsmitglieder zum Rücktritt gezwungen worden. Stolz konnte der Vorstand bereits Ende 1933 verkünden, Continental sei nun »ein christliches und rein deutsches Unternehmen«.