Joint Venture Between Autobytel And Continental

Tyre manufacturer Continental intends to engage itself more in the e-business arena – especially on the “B2C” (Business to Consumer) level. The company has therefore decided to begin cooperation concerning tyre distribution with “autobytel.com”, an independent US-American internet-platform which offers a complete car service to its customers covering the complete life cycle of the car.

Working together with tyre retailers, a complete service package will be offered to customers. All retailers interested in this project will be given the opportunity to participate, even if they do not possess the necessary infrastructure at the moment. The two companies explained during a press conference in Frankfurt what they are going to do.

Continental is initially investing about 15 million Euro, most of it for the creation of a “tyre portal”. At present the whole project exists only on paper but Continental wants to arrange the basics of this project by the end of February 2001, and the operative start is planned for autumn 2001. During the press conference, Conti CEO Kessel underlined his interests in working closely together with the professional tyre trade.