Continental's strong showing at Auto Shanghai

The Chassis & Safety Division presented a complete portfolio of active and passive safety solutions to achieve the ambitious goal of 'Vision Zero', which is the vision of road traffic without accident fatalities and without severe injuries with its intelligent safety system ContiGuard. ContiGuard networks all active and passive safety systems and components and also integrates environmental sensors and telematics functions. For example, as soon as a hazard is detected, the brakes are prefilled and the brake assist is set to fully developed deceleration. If the risk of an accident escalates, the side windows and sliding roof are closed, the belts are pre-tensioned and the seats are moved into a proper position. The airbags are conditioned for optimum passenger protection.

Continental also showcased various Powertrain products with low CO2 concepts as well as a complete portfolio of low cost internal combustion engine components. The central feature is the new 'Easy-U' engine management system, which comes with a fully validated set of actuators, sensors plus special fuel pumps, and the new transmission control system based on the 'EAST Platform' for automatic and double-clutch transmissions.

The Interior Division is displaying affordable yet highly functional solutions in the areas of instrumentation and displays, body electronics and multimedia devices which have been developed specifically for the booming low-cost car segment. Currently, the so-called Basic Function Controller, an affordable but highly flexible and scalable body control unit, is already in development for four major car manufacturers in the Asian region for series application. With the new 'Connected Radio Navigation', Continental offers a flexible and cost-optimised solution for vehicle integration of mobile devices and services.

Jay K Kunkel, President Asia and Member of the Automotive Management Board of Continental AG, said: “The automotive trade is expecting a strong growth in the low-cost vehicle market in the coming decade, particularly in the emerging markets of Asia. From 2012 onwards, nearly one out of two cars worldwide will be manufactured in Asia and much of the growth in the Asian auto market will come from China. China is definitely playing an increasingly important role in the future development of the global automotive industry. We will thus continue our investment and technology innovations and intensify our R&D localisation strategy to develop products for the Chinese market while providing support and global expertise.”