Continental Tyre celebrates 75 years in South Africa in OE video series

Continental Tyre South Africa is marking its 75^th anniversary in South Africa with its sponsorship of Cars.co.za’s four-part ‘Continental Icons’ video series. Available on the Cars.co.za YouTube channel, one of the largest branded channels in South Africa with more than 320 000 subscribers, the videos highlight the tyre manufacturer’s original equipment heritage. The General Tire and Rubber Company South Africa was founded in January 1947 and acquired by Continental AG in 1998, after which it was renamed Continental Tyre South Africa. The company said the acquisition helped cement it as one of the country’s leading tyre manufacturers.

“We are extremely proud of achieving the 75-year milestone, and to have played a large supporting role in the local economy by producing some of the best tyres in the world, for some of the most significant cars of all time,” says Monica Ramsunder, marketing manager at Continental Tyre SA.

As the only Continental tyre plant in Africa, the local plant produces original equipment Continental and General Tire-branded tyres for six of the largest vehicle manufacturers in the country. It also has a large share of the aftermarket segment for passenger, light commercial, 4×4 and SUV tyres, and exports tyres around the world – thus making it an important part of South Africa’s rich automotive history, and key to its export-driven growth opportunities.

“We are delighted to be partnering with the creative team at Cars.co.za as part of our 75th anniversary celebrations, and linking this to the industry-defining legacy of four iconic, trend-setting cars,” Ramsunder says.

New York artist Julian Montague’s ‘Original Equipment Heroes’ artwork (Photo: Continental)

The first video in the series sets the scene by featuring a mint-condition, rare and valuable 1973 BMW 2002tii owned by Jaques Wessels. The 2002 is a legendary car that created the foundation for what later became BMW’s immensely successful compact executive sedan, the 3-Series, for which Continental remains an original equipment (OE) tyre supplier in Germany.

Almost one in every three new cars in Europe is delivered from the factory with tyres from Continental, making it the leading original equipment provider in the European market. Globally Continental is an OE supplier to most of the leading manufacturers, including Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar/Land Rover, Peugeot/Citroën, Renault/Nissan, Fiat and Volkswagen, as well as sports car manufacturers such as Porsche and Maserati.

“Partnering with an iconic brand like Continental, which is so closely associated with some truly memorable cars, is a perfect fit for Cars.co.za’s classic car lifestyle brand, SentiMETAL,” says Hannes Oosthuizen, Consumer Experience Manager at Cars.co.za. “This new video series represents a great opportunity to tell diverse and entertaining ownership stories, featuring passionate owners and special vehicles.”

The four cars that form part of the ‘Continental Icons’ are also featured in the 2020 collaboration between Continental AG and famous New York artist, Julian Montague. The ‘Original Equipment Heroes’ series of 11 artworks incorporated Montague’s unique style of art to celebrate some of the most iconic cars in the history of Continental globally. It also formed part of the build-up to the company’s 150th anniversary in 2021, and highlighted Continental’s status as the preferred tyre choice amongst the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers.

“Continental is trusted around the world for its German engineering, delivering exceptional performance and safety,” Ramsunder says. “The Cars.co.za ‘Continental Icons’ video series and the artwork by Julian Montague highlight the spirit of innovation that has shaped the cars we drive today.

“Many of the European cars incorporated in the ‘Original Equipment Heroes’ artwork are also celebrated as an iconic part of our South African heritage,” Ramsunder says. “Accordingly, we specifically chose four cars to be featured by the Cars.co.za team as ‘Continental Icons’ to showcase the diversity of vehicle types relative to our wide range of needs, and to highlight the extensive range of world-class tyres that we produce in South Africa.”