Conti Opens Asia HQ, R&D Centre in Shanghai

As part of its drive to increase localisation and provide better technical support to customers in the Chinese market, Continental AG has opened its new Asia headquarters and research and development centre in Shanghai’s Yangpu district. The new 16-floor 15,000 square metre facility currently houses around 700 employees from Conti’s Automotive Group, and a further 200 will relocate there by early 2010. The site will function, says Continental, as its Asia headquarters as well as an “important technical centre for the design and development of vehicle electronics”. The new R&D centre is the second Conti has opened in Shanghai; the company’s Continental Automotive Tech Centre in Jiading focuses on vehicle application development and systems testing for electronic brake systems, hydraulic brake systems, and engine management and system control. Some 60 million euros have been invested in both sites.

“Asia is the fastest growing market and will continue to expand as an export base in the future development of the global automotive industry,” commented Helmut Matschi, member of Continental AG’s Executive Board and president of the company’s Interior Division, upon outlining the new investment. “China is playing an increasingly important role and has become one of the key marketplaces for all vehicle manufacturers and automotive suppliers. From the time Continental took its first step into China in 1994, until the opening of this new Asia Headquarters and R&D Center, all our efforts have demonstrated our great confidence in the sustained growth of the market and our strong commitment to future development and continuous investment in China. The grand opening of the new Asia Headquarters and R&D Center marks a strategic step in the further strengthening of our leading position in China and Asia.”

Jay Kunkel, Conti’s Asia region president and member of the company’s Automotive Management Board, added:  “Continental’s new Asia Headquarters and R&D Center, which was completed this September, will be a great contributor to the expansion of our local R&D talent pool, a surge in our local R&D competence and the optimisation of our competitiveness. We estimate that a minimum of 25 per cent of our global sales will be achieved in Asia by 2013. Moreover, our approach also reflects the automotive industry’s concentration on so-called ‘affordable cars’. We are intensifying our localisation strategy to develop specific products and solutions for the Asian and Chinese markets with focus on ‘affordable cars’, while maintaining our position as a leader in advanced technology and innovation here in China and worldwide.”