Hannover-based Continental AG is a leading automotive supplier and – according to the company – is “the choice of leading car manufacturers, offering award-winning tyres that deliver responsive braking in all weather conditions.”
Continental is beginning the search for a new chief financial officer after Katja Garcia Vila informed the company she won’t seek another term on the Executive Board following her current contract’s expiry in December 2024. Garcia Vila is taking this step as part of “her own career planning.”
Netherlands based company Vredeveld Group, a leader in international logistics, uses the ContiConnect digital tyre monitoring system to benefit the family-owned company’s modern fleet in a number of different ways. Continuous tyre monitoring has helped it improve fleet efficiency, with fuel consumption and carbon emissions reduced substantially. Like many logistics companies, the forward-thinking Vredeveld Group is paying particularly close attention to these credentials. “We have very ambitious goals for the future,” says Mischa Vredeveld, the company’s general manager. “Our mission is to cut CO2 emissions significantly. ContiConnect plays a key role here and gives us the tools we need to achieve these CO2 reductions.”
Continental has rolled out an update for its TireTech App advice tool for fleet managers, drivers, retailers and workshops to achieve the best possible tyre performance and the greatest possible fleet efficiency. In the cost-driven day-to-day tyre business, this technical tool covers both correct tyre fitment and optimised pressure control. Now Conti has added extra functions to the app too.
Continental is extending the reach of its digital tyre management system with the latest version of its ContiConnect Lite app. Integrating tyres into the vehicle network via sensor technology and data transfer, the tyre manufacturer and technology solutions provider is using ContiConnect Lite to create a bridge between tyre sensors and professional tyre management. Continental is also extending the sensorisation of its commercial tyre products; since the end of 2023 it has been supplying its latest-generation of tyre sensors within all models in its Conti Urban city bus tyre range.
The Continental TireTech app serves as a valuable tool for fleet managers, drivers, retailers, and tyre workshops wishing to optimise tyre performance and enhance fleet efficiency. Continental has now added extra functions to the app that broaden its appeal, introducing several new features tailored for truck and bus tyres and expanding its reach to include the burgeoning van and camper van tyre segments.
Continental has sold its Finnish Tikka Spikes Oy business to the company’s management in a management buy-out (MBO). As a result, parts of Tikka’s current management team led by Juha Rautiainen will acquire all Tikka Spikes Oy shares through their newly founded company Tikka Industrial Oy. The target date for completion is 1 March 2024. All Tikka Spikes employees will stay with the new owners. Existing supply, development and testing partnerships with Continental will be continued. Both parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
For their 2024 summer tyre test, European motoring organisations ADAC, ÖAMTC and TCS have shined the spotlight on 215/55 R17, a dimension suitable for mid-size cars and smaller SUVs. The test team put 16 brands of tyre through their paces and was satisfied with overall results, even though some tyres showed “minor weaknesses”.
Size 205/55 R16 is the most frequently purchased tyre dimension in Europe, primarily due to its fitment on compact class vehicles. Recognising this, Auto Bild has selected this size for its comprehensive 2024 summer tyre test. The motoring publication is examining 55 tyres; it hasn’t finished testing but tells its readers that the preliminary round of braking tests in wet and dry conditions has delivered “noteworthy data” for each evaluated tyre.
Continental has debuted a new soft compound winter tyre for those who drive in the frostier regions of Europe. This is the Continental VikingContact 8, and during its development the tyre maker focused on “safe driving characteristics in the harsh Nordic winters, increased comfort and lower rolling resistance.” This last quality is important, given the strong uptake of electric cars in Nordic markets. According to Continental, VikingContact 8 is “ideally suited to both conventionally and electrically powered cars, SUVs and hybrids.”
When a company says it plans to “strengthen the competitiveness” of its business, job cuts are usually not far away. And so it is at Continental, with the company yesterday confirming that in addition to the changes announced last November, further “efficiency measures” within the company’s Automotive group sector will affect around 1,750 jobs.
Since opening the AIBA (Automated Indoor Braking Analyzer) at its Contidrom proving ground in 2012, Continental has carried out more than a million trips at its fully automated tyre braking test facility, hurtling vehicles at speeds of up to 75mph in precisely reproduceable tests to evaluate tyre performance in a range of conditions. Acceleration is aided by an electromagnetic linear drive borrowed from roller-coaster technology.
Days after the European Commission announced that it is investigating a number of leading tyre manufacturers in relation to allegations of price-fixing, the same companies have become the subject of a similar class-action lawsuit in the USA. The class action relates to “…purchases of tyres within four years prior to the filing” – which clearly relates to a potentially enormous number of tyres. The case basically alleges that the named tyremakers colluded to raise and sustain higher tyre prices and that such action was at least partly facilitated via public communications. The named tyremakers have all already denied price fixing and stated their compliance with the law and their cooperation with investigations in relation the EC investigation.
Last autumn, German business publication Manager-Magazin caught wind of plans at Continental to axe 5,500 jobs in its Automotive group sector. Continental confirmed this shortly afterwards. The magazine now has another exclusive, citing inside information that Continental is currently discussing the elimination of “more than a thousand additional jobs,” leading to cuts in research and development being “more severe than expected.”
Continental’s most sustainable series tyre to date is a winner at the International Design Awards 2023. The International Design Awards (IDA) jury has awarded the Continental UltraContact NXT its Gold award in the Automotive & Transport / Cars Accessories category for its special sidewall design.
The share prices of Bridgestone, Continental, Goodyear, Michelin, Nokian and Pirelli were down by an average of 2.35 per cent following the news that the European Commission has started an antitrust investigation within the European Union.
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