Continental Banks on the Megatrends Safety, Sustainability and Information for Commercial Vehicles

HANOVER – September 23, 2008: At the 62nd International Motor Show Commercial Vehicles in Hanover, Continental AG is showcasing its product range for the commercial vehicle indus¬try, which has been expanded significantly by the acquisition of Siemens VDO. Five of six of the corporation's divisions will be presenting state-of-the art technologies for driver assis¬tance systems, sensors, information technology and tires. "Just like our customers, we are banking on the megatrends of the industry, thus making a major contribution to greater effi¬ciency, enhanced comfort and safety, as well as improved eco-friendliness in the commercial vehicles of the future," said Continental Executive Board member Dr. Hans-Joachim Nikolin on Tuesday in Hanover.

The sales of Continental AG's commercial vehicle business will be of more than €3.0 billion in the current year. The international automotive supplier and technology corporation has some 18,000 employees at work worldwide on products and systems for the commercial vehicle industry. "We want to expand our position in this business sector as well, and we see positive development trends in Eastern Europe and potential for growth in particular in Asia and South America," said Dr. Nikolin. At the same time, he pointed out that the markets had slowed down considerably this year, especially in Europe and North America. "That clearly has an impact on the Commercial Vehicle Tires division, since it affects original equipment as well as the replacement business. That's why we have already reacted by adjusting our production of commercial vehicle tires."

As a supplier, Continental is optimally positioned in the commercial vehicle industry. Dr. Nikolin cited the air spring systems for commercial vehicles and buses as an example. "In this field we are the European market leader, and number two worldwide.

Furthermore, we are also the market leader for satellite-assisted toll onboard units and have supplied nearly 60% of the OBUs for the German Toll Collect consortium. More than a third of all truckers and bus drivers look at an instrument cluster from Continental. We supply vehicle control systems to numerous carmakers and are the market leader in this sector as well. Since we invented the "Autorex Uhr" in 1923 in Villingen-Schwenningen, we have sold more than 15 million tachographs."

In addition to the slump in the economy, the high raw material prices as well as the more stringent emission regulations in particular present new challenges for the industry. "As for other vehicles, Continental has a wide selection of products for commercial vehicles as well, ranging from rolling resistance-optimized tires and innovative injection systems to engine electronics and driver assistance systems. These products reduce fuel consumption, thus cutting costs and going easy on the environment," said Dr. Nikolin.

With sales of €1.5 billion in 2007, the Commercial Vehicle Tires division holds the biggest share of Continental's commercial vehicle business. The main goals in this sector include lower rolling resistance, reductions in CO2 emissions and enhanced traffic safety. Since 2002 Continental has lowered the rolling resistance of truck tire lines by 8%. This means that, once a commercial vehicle has covered a distance of approximately 150,000 kilometers, it will have reduced CO2 emissions by an average of 4 tons or 3%, saving 1,600 liters of diesel. At the IAA Commercial Vehicles, two trailer tire models will be presented that save fuel while offering better mileage performance.

At IAA Commercial Vehicles 2008, the Commercial Vehicle Tires and Interior divisions are also presenting newly developed tire pressure monitoring systems designed specifically with commercial vehicles in mind. The Intelligent Tire System, with sensors integrated into the tire, continuously oversees the respective pressure and temperature of the tire and is thus able to catch a gradual loss of inflation pressure before it’s too late. The system reduces tire wear and fuel consumption while widening a vehicle’s margin of safety.

The Interior division is showing innovations for the sophisticated information management in commercial vehicles while providing solutions for intelligent mobility. The Commercial Vehicles & Aftermarket (CV/AM) business unit is a part of the division Interior and offers a wide product range for commercial vehicles and special vehicles. The business unit CV/AM contributes with approximately 20% to the consolidated sales of the Division Interior. The product range of the CV/AM unit includes tachographs, control systems for drive and onboard electronics, components for the man-machine interface such as instrumentation, panels and cockpits, as well as onboard toll units or telematics units for public transit. One of the Interior division's highlights at the IAA Commercial Vehicles is the digital tachograph: The next generation of the VDO DTCO digital tachograph features, among other things, an option for remote transmission of data that makes the downloading and archiving of tachograph data more efficient for the driver and fleet manager.

The Chassis & Safety division enhances traffic safety for trucks with its driver assistance systems. The division is launching an innovative assistance system that monitors the blind spot on the right-hand side of the vehicle and warns of imminent collisions. This system in¬creases traffic safety for heavy trucks and has been in production starting this year. Conti¬nental is thus prepared for the legal regulations which have already been announced for 2013. The land departure warning system and a latest-generation radar sensor with emer¬gency brake assistance round off the product range. These systems will contribute signifi¬cantly to greatly reducing the number of dangerous rear-end collisions involving trucks in the future.

The Powertrain division is launching new systems and components for more efficient pow¬ertrains and reduced fuel consumption that satisfy the more stringent exhaust emissions standards EPA 10 (USA), Japan 09 or Euro VI. At the IAA Commercial Vehicles, the division is showcasing engine control units as well as injection and exhaust gas purification systems. Continental’s piezo common rail diesel injection improves fuel efficiency in the case of small van engines and American pick-ups with displacement of 6.5-liters. Sensor systems make it possible to keep an exact record of all engine states. In this way combustion processes can be optimized and nitrogen oxide and fine particle emissions further reduced. Last but not least, by offering hybrid modules that can be scaled up from cars to commercial vehicles, Continental is focusing in on the kind of enhanced power electronics and batteries that will enable commercial vehicles to operate with zero emissions in cities and urban areas in the future.

The ContiTech division gears its product portfolio towards enhanced comfort, more envi¬ronmental protection and greater efficiency. At the 62nd IAA Commercial Vehicles, ContiTech is showing materials for furnishing the driver's cabin, air spring systems for more driving comfort, as well as drive belts and hoses that enable cleaner engines. The new translucent concertina walls from ContiTech Elastomer Coatings are based upon a new high-tech rubber technology that provides more light and visibility in the bus's interior for greater comfort. In Paris, 200 city buses will be equipped with the new technology. Instead of the standard in¬jection molded interior usually found in this sector, the Benecke-Kaliko business unit uses foil materials, supplying key commercial vehicle manufacturers in Europe. In Europe, the SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) technology is becoming increasingly popular in commercial vehicles and buses. The process helps in reducing nitrogen oxide emissions for diesel en¬gines and contributes towards more sustainable mobility. ContiTech Fluid Technology deve¬loped heatable hose line modules for the SCR technology. At the IAA, ContiTech Air Spring Systems, together with the axle manufacturer BPW, will also be showing an electronic air suspension system that enables more precise vehicle level adjustment.