Continental to build new production plant in Shanghai

Shanghai, China, August 3, 2009 The international automotive supplier Continental is to build a new production plant for its three Automotive Divisions Chassis & Safety, Powertrain and Interior in Jiading Industrial Zone, Shanghai. The new plant mainly produces electronic control units & hydraulic electronic control units out of the Chassis & Safety Division, body electronic modules and instrumentation components out of the Interior Division as well as thick film substrates out of the Powertrain Division. The facility will further enhance the company's production capacity in addition to its existing plants in China. Even in the midst of the ongoing crisis in the automotive sector, Continental continues its investment which demonstrates the firm commitment and resolution to the Chinese market and expands the strong footprint in China and Asia.

Continental invests together with its partner Jiading Industrial Zone (JDIZ) RMB160 million in this new plant, which is situated on a land space of 74000 square meters and will be put into production in the middle of 2010. As planned, its production capacity will ramp up to 7.5 million units of hydraulic and electronic control units, 3 million units of printed circuit boards for clusters, 5 million units of door control modules and gateways, and 2 million units of thick film substrates by 2015 with a workforce of up to 1500 employees. The products are destined for all vehicle segments and will mainly be supplied to OEMs in China, Japan, Korea and Europe.

Continental is striving to offer "best in class", modular and scalable safety technologies and solutions for all the vehicles to ensure the safety for everyone and further improve traffic safety standards in China. Electronic Brake Systems (EBS) from Continental feature outstanding capacity for integration of functions and system components. They lie at the heart of our development and production of systems for safe driving and braking. EBS by Continental include Anti-lock Brake Systems (ABS) and Electronic Stability Control (ESC), including countless additional functions and means of integration. EBS are an essential active safety system, which can safely reduce brake and stopping distance, enhance vehicle stability and driving pleasure and is the indispensable basis for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems.

The Interior Division from Continental concentrates particularly on information management to make vehicles smarter and more comfortable. Its Business Unit Body & Security focuses on development and production of body electronics, access control, tire information systems, light controllers, seat systems and battery and energy management solutions which all ensure the availability of security and comfort features within the vehicle. For instance, door control units (DCUs) which will also be produced in the new Jiading plant are the basis for the electronics that operate exterior mirrors and power window lifter with anti-pinch protection. The Powertrain Division from Continental integrates innovative and efficient system solutions for vehicle powertrains with the aim to increase performance and driving comfort while at the same time lowering consumption and emissions. Continental is not only specialized in advanced electronically controlled injection systems for gasoline and diesel engines and their associated electronics but also develops and produces electronics for controlling the latest automatic transmissions.

Mr. Enno Tang, Head of Business Unit Electronic Brake Systems China of Continental, commented, “Shanghai/Jiading has become one of the key production and R&D locations of Continental’s Division Chassis & Safety here in China. We will further intensify our localization strategy. As a market leader in technology innovation, we are committed to offering our Chinese customers the best products and efficient services with uncompromising quality.”

Mr. Juergen Martin, General Manager of Continental Automotive Systems (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. added, "Since Continental and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) jointly founded Shanghai Automotive Brake Systems Co., Ltd. in 1994 in Jiading, we have continued our investment here with establishment of Continental Automotive Systems (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and Continental Automotive Tech Center Jiading. Due to our robust business growth, the current production capacity of Continental Automotive Systems (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. will not be sufficient to meet the future demands. Therefore, we build this new plant which mainly focuses on Electronic Brake Systems and we will relocate our business in the near future to the new site. "
Mr. Jay Kunkel, President Asia and Member of the Automotive Management Board of Continental AG, outlined the new investment, "with the rapid growth in traffic and demand for mobility, traffic safety is becoming a major consumer demand. Maximum driving safety is one of our core businesses and our aim is to ensure that in the future there are no more traffic fatalities or severe injuries. ESC will be mandatory as standard equipment in new vehicles from September 2011 in the USA and from November 2011 in the EU. We would expect Asia and China to adopt this legislation to improve driving safety and reduce traffic fatalities. We strongly follow our automotive visions ‘Vision Zero’, ‘Zero Emission’ and ‘Always On’ which represent a new dimension in the driving world. The establishment of this new plant will facilitate to promote our advanced technologies in China further on and make people enjoy and benefit from it. "

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 currently employs approximately 133,000 at nearly 190 locations in 35 countries.

The Automotive Group is one of the leading global automotive suppliers. With its three Divisions Chassis & Safety (5.1 billion €, 27,000 employees), Powertrain (4 billion €, 25,000 employees) and Interior (5.9 billion €, more than 30,000 employees) it achieved sales of approximately 15 billion € in 2008. The Automotive Group is present in more than 130 locations worldwide. As a partner of the automotive and commercial vehicle industry, it 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.

The Chassis & Safety Division develops and produces electronic and hydraulic brake and chassis control systems, sensors, driver assistance systems, air bag control systems, washer systems as well as electronic air suspension systems. Its core competence is the integration of active and passive driving safety into ContiGuard®. The Powertrain Division integrates innovative and efficient system solutions for vehicle powertrains. The comprehensive range of products includes gasoline and diesel injection systems, engine management, transmission control, including sensors and actuators, as well as fuel-supply systems and components and systems for hybrid drives. Information management is at the very heart of the Interior Division. The range of products includes instrument clusters and multifunctional displays, control units, electronic car-entry systems, tire-monitoring systems, radios, multimedia and navigation systems, climate control systems, telematics solutions as well as cockpit modules and systems.