Continental to expand in China

Nikolai Setzer, a member of the executive board and head of Tire Division, Continental AG, speaks atthe new product launch ceremony on Sept 14, 2016, in eastern Zhejiang province. (Photo ProvidedTo China Daily)

Continental Tires has put its global experience and German technology into its new Anhuiproduction base, following the "Vision 2025" strategy, expecting the Asia-Pacific region todrive the company's growth as the world's market is bumpy.

The leading German tire maker's launch of the Generation 6 products - UltraContact UC6 andComfortContact CC6 - on Sept 12 in eastern Zhejiang province demonstrate ContinentalTires' relentless drive to redefine technology for their Asia-Pacific customers.

"Vision 2025" of Continental AG's Tire Division, also known as Continental Tires, will enter itsthird stage in 2017. It sees Asia-Pacific as the company's key driver for future growth.

The Tire Division expects the Hefei plant, in Anhui province, will help extend advantages inthe region, and the Chinese market to double the sales volume to 10 billion euros ($11.2billion) by 2020.

"We see the Asia-Pacific region demonstrating huge potential and becoming a key driver ofContinental Tires' future growth," said Nikolai Setzer, a member of the executive board andhead of Tire Division, Continental AG.

"The new products, featuring cutting-edge German technology, is a technology milestone inthe Asia-Pacific region and serves as a further testament to our commitment to the region. Ittakes Continental Tires a step closer to our 'Vision 2025'."

"Continental Tires put global experience and intelligence into the product design, and resultedin the Generation 6 products being perfectly balanced with safety, fuel eficiency, ridingcomfort and noise control," Setzer told China Daily.

Continental Tires has tailored its next generation of products to the Asia-Pacific region, andstarted domestic production in Hefei city after starting a local training and testing center - thefirst in the region.

Continental Tires invested heavily in research and development for the Generation 6products, and conducted extensive tests to deliver the premium quality product that the brandrepresents. UltraContact UC6 and ComfortContact CC6 have been designed based on an in-depth understanding of the needs and driving habits of drivers in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Tire Division, having 24 production and development locations worldwide, achieved salesof 10.4 billion euros in 2015. The broad product range and continuous investments in R&Dmake major contributions to cost-efective and ecologically efficient mobility.

In the market, for the market

The Generation 6 products are designed to deliver better driving experience and brakingperformance, especially on wet ground. They react more precisely while braking, and moreaccurate response to steering.

"In line with our guiding principle'in the market, for the market', the new Generation 6 productswill be produced in plants in the Asia-Pacific region and will follow global standards," Philippvon Hirschheydt, executive vice-president, Passenger and Light Truck Replacement TiresAsia-Pacific, said.

Setzer envisions further expansion in the Asia-Pacific region, especially in China, as aproactive reaction to the possible future. He decided to offer a more balanced portfolio tocustomers in the region to better suit the local demands.

"We are laying a strong foundation through investments in both technologies and the markets.Continental Tires has never made such a huge investment before as in the Hefei plant,"Setzer said.

Continental Tires will double its local productivity in Hefei, Anhui province, to 14 million tiresannually by 2019 with investments in capacity and high-tech projects totaling more than 2billion euros, the company announced in July last year.

The Hefei plant is giving Continental Tires the unique opportunity to create local productpackages customized on the understanding of the local customers' demands.

Continental Tires is expected to continue expansion of its product portfolio to further drivemarket share in the region and to generate more positive value for both consumers andrelevant stakeholders.

Continental AG has expanded its presence in 26 production locations and 17 research anddevelopment centers, representing a workforce of over 24,000 in the country.

Continental put into operation its Yancheng test center in Jiangsu province, in cooperationwith China Automotive Technology & Research Center in July. The test center will mainlysupport the testing and validation of Continental safety products and systems, including tiresand advanced driver assistance systems.

Tire business is people's business

Continental AG's Tire Division opened its new training center, covering more than 1,000square meters in Hefei city's HiTech Zone, to the business partners and employees in July.

The Hefei training center, the first in the Asia-Pacific region with 20 million yuan ($2.99million) in investment, is part of the company's global scheme, as the unified comprehensivetraining is one of the critical factors for Continental Tires' success, according to Setzer.

"Continental Tires targets value chain integrations including production, R&D, andprofessional training, and we have achieved a phased goal in the region," he remarked.

The Hefei training center will help the business partners and relatively young talents from theplant, R&D and sales forces to know the right thing to do in the right way, with the right toolson site.

The company is expecting to have more and more local tire talents ready, to get involved inthe swiftly developing Chinese market.

Setzer believes the business on the Chinese market is making changes every day, andrecognizes 90 percent of the new business was unexpected.

"Every employee is encouraged to pop up ideas to help the business get better. So we havethe culture that everyone has the freedom to act, and the passion to win," he stressed. "Everyday we need to learn, and we are transferring the learning into daily life."