Continental shows system integration competence at Shanghai show

Shanghai, China, April 22, 2009. Despite of the global economic slowdown, the international automotive supplier Continental AG presents the company and a major product portfolio from the Automotive Group on Tuesday at Auto Shanghai 2009 in China. It showcases the products and solutions tailor-made for the Asian and Chinese market, and again underlines its commitment and confidence that Continental holds for China.

As a worldwide leader in the four automotive megatrends namely: safety, environment, information and affordable cars, Continental displays its advanced technology for Chassis & Safety, Powertrain and Interior at the booth of Hall E5. Moreover, in a dedicated corner Continental unveils its brand new demo car called “Lu Wei”, which is packed with ideas and products customized for the Chinese market. It demonstrates strong system integration competence and the growth for local production and R&D footprint in China.

With a comprehensive know-how and wide product portfolio throughout the car “Lu Wei”, it brings more mobility, safety, and driving pleasure while in care of the environment. Electronic Stability Control (ESC), presently the most important active safety system, ensures the stability and controllability of the car “Lu Wei” in situations where sudden and unexpected external influences appear. Powered by 1.5 ltr 3 cylinder turbo charged direct injection gasoline engine and 12KW mild hybrid drivetrain, “Lu Wei” can achieve the reduction of CO2 emissions by 15% while increasing engine power by 14% and the torque by 36%. To make the vehicle smarter, “Lu Wei” is equipped with not only a new instrument cluster with unique features for an optimized Human-Machine Interface (HMI) by touch screen and voice recognition, but also entertainment systems with MP3, DVD Video, integrated navigation and a Bluetooth interface for mobile phones. Excellent in-car information management can minimize driver distraction as well as ensure that the driver has all of the information he wants meanwhile in full control of his vehicle. Moreover, the tires of “Lu Wei” combine the best safety performance, especially in stopping power, with low rolling resistance values.

The Chassis & Safety Division presents at the booth a complete portfolio of active and passive safety solutions to achieve the ambitious goal of “Vision Zero”. The scalability and flexibility of Continental products, with components like entry electronic brake systems, drum brakes, specifically adapted actuation units, airbag control units and market-specific calipers is geared to taking the highest safety standards to all parts of the world and bringing safety to everyone. To meet the demands of the fast growing emerging markets, Continental is currently developing the next generation of ABS/ESC systems which are smaller, lighter and more capable. From the groundbreaking technology platform based on a modular structure for airbag control, named SPEED (Safety Platform for Efficient & Economical Design) low-cost versions are derived for the emerging markets. Besides, Continental has made continuous efforts to develop the design of drum brakes and ABA (Asian Base Actuation) for a number of detailed suggestions to achieve optimum economic efficiency. A rapid market growth in emerging countries in the small car segment for Electronic Power Steering is expected because it requires fewer components thus yields fuel economy gains.

In line with Continental's long standing commitment to environment protection, Continental presents various Powertrain products with low CO2 concepts as well as a complete portfolio of low cost internal combustion engine components at the show. 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. "Easy-U" and "EAST Platform" were developed in China with support from Europe to address the requirements of the emerging markets, and start of serial production will be in 2009 in the Changchun plant. The innovative solution can shorten time to market, reduce engineering efforts for application and bring cost competitiveness. As a worldwide supplier of the complete range of hybrid technology from lithium-ion energy storage units to power electronics, Continental is playing a significant role in promoting this technology. In 2008 Continental started series production of lithium-ion batteries which will be installed in the new Mercedes S400 BlueHYBRID, available from the middle of 2009. Continental is now developing the second generation of power electronics EPF2 and was able to reduce the volume of the unit significantly while increasing its performance through innovative design and packaging. Continental is planning to manufacture hybrid components in its Tianjin facility.

The Interior Division is displaying products and solutions tailored to the needs of the Asian market and of China in particular. Many of the affordable yet highly functional solutions in the areas of instrumentation and displays, body electronics and multimedia devices 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. The controller’s extremely cost-conscious development approach knocks up to 30% off the outlay for conventional control devices. With the new “Connected Radio Navigation“, Continental offers a flexible and cost-optimized solution for vehicle integration of mobile devices and services. A Bluetooth or USB interface allows for a tie-in to numerous mobile devices – cell phones, BlackBerrys or various media players. The demonstration of several innovative series instrument clusters point up Continental’s competence for both the Chinese and Western markets and cover the whole spectrum from low-cost instrument displays to high-end applications with color displays, all based on a holistic approach.

Currently Continental is in the process of building its new Asia Headquarters in Yangpu district of Shanghai that will also host an R&D centre. Together with the Continental Automotive Tech Center Jiading which was officially opened on 2 April, 2009, the total capital investment of both sites amounts to approx. € 60 million. The new Asia Headquarters in Shanghai will be a 14-floor office building with a total floor space of approximately 14,000 square meters and the entire staff will move to this new facility within this year.

Mr. 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 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 localization strategy to develop tailor-made products for the Chinese market while providing excellent support and global expertise to our local customers. Wherever our customers are, we are always nearby. Our participation in Auto Shanghai 2009 provides an opportunity to showcase the strength of Continental.”

About Continental:

With sales exceeding €24 billion in 2008, the Continental Corporation is one of the top automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systems and components for the powertrain and chassis, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires and technical elastomers, the corporation contributes towards enhanced driving safety and protection of the global climate. Continental is also a competent partner in networked automobile communication. The corporation employs nearly 140,000 at approximately 190 locations in 35 countries.

The Automotive Group of Continental AG is one of the leading global automotive suppliers. With its three Divisions – Chassis & Safety, Powertrain and Interior – it achieved sales of approximately 15 billion € in 2008. The Automotive Group employs more than 80,000 people in more than 130 locations worldwide. As a partner of the automotive industry, the Automotive Group develops and produces innovative products and systems for a modern automotive future, in which a car accommodates individual mobility and driving pleasure to driving safety, environmental responsibility and cost-efficiency.