Conti Partners with Emirates for Universal Tyres in UAE

On January 14, Continental AG announced a partnership with Emirates for Universal Tyres LLC for the distribution of passenger and light truck tyres as well as commercial vehicle tyres in the United Arab Emirates. These activities are to be coordinated from the representative office of Continental’s new MENENA business unit, which focuses upon business development in the Middle East and the North Africa region.

Speaking to the press in Dubai, Dr. Hartmut Wöhler, executive vice president Marketing & Sales for Continental’s replacement business in Europe and Africa, said “as the European market leader in the passenger and light truck tyre business and number three in the European truck tyre business we are keen to establish a solid foothold for our business in the United Arab Emirates.

“This is an increasingly important market for us due to the high proportion of luxury cars, sports utility vehicles and sports cars on the roads here. This region is a very attractive proposition for us and we believe we can offer our Continental brand portfolio with all summer tyres including 4×4 products as well as truck, bus and industrial tyres.

“The relationship with our new partner Emirates for Universal Tyres LLC is an important milestone for us and we are looking forward to building a successful business in the region in conjunction with them,” Wöhler added.

“This is a very significant day for us and we are very proud to be the official distributor of Continental in the UAE,” commented Hisham Layali, managing director of Emirates for Universal Tyres LLC. “The Continental brand is acknowledged around the world for its sophisticated, reliable and high performance products which have a natural fit with the significantly high proportion of vehicles driven here in the Emirates. We are very excited about working together to further grow the brand and gain market share in the region.”

Emirates for Universal Tyres was established in 2005 primarily to develop the Continental business within the United Arab Emirates, and initially operated in Abu Dhabi. The business belongs to the Abu Dhabi based Abdulla AlMasaood & Sons Group of Companies. Emirates for Universal Tyres has three state-of-the-art showrooms and a service centre in Abu Dhabi, two showrooms and a service centre in Dubai as well as three warehouses in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Fujairah.

“We see excellent growth opportunities especially for our premium brand products and we will start similar co-operations in several countries in this region in the next years as well,” concluded Jon Ander Garcia, regional manager for Continental in the MENENA area of operations. “If we see opportunities to extend our business model by implementing our successful multi brand strategy we will do it.”