Continental’s ‘affordable car’ dividend

Continental has said it will cater to ever increasing demand for individual mobility, particularly in the emerging markets, and has decided to develop global solutions for the booming market for affordable cars. “We are proceeding on the assumption that affordable cars will make up about 20 percent of global car production by 2015. That is why we are localising our value-added chain in the markets and leveraging our extensive technology know-how as well as our global development and production network to do so. This will be done with no compromises in safety, quality, sustainability and operating convenience,” says Dr. Elmar Degenhart, Continental AG executive board chairman. Even in industrialised markets, there has been a marked rise in demand for compact cars.

An affordable car isn’t skimped on in terms of equipment or safety. The low-cost is achieved by a high localisation achieved by relying on the know-how of local engineers and purchasing from the local vendor base. Locally developed, cost-effective and scalable products for affordable cars include the SPEED scalable airbag control unit, the EASY-U engine control unit and the basic function controller for various comfort functions.

A large portion of the €1.8 billion in investments planned for 2011 worldwide are in Asia. The workforce will also continue to grow in Asia. The laying of the cornerstone for a new R&D centre in Singapore, the new office building planned for this year in Icheon, Korea, and the expansion of the existing development center in Bangalore are a few examples of Continental’s intense involvement in the Asian markets.