---

Soon One Out of Every Three Cars in Europe Will be Equipped with the Electronic Stability Program

28 January 2000

Continental AG: Soon One Out of Every Three Cars in Europe Will be Equipped with the Electronic Stability Program

    HANNOVER, Germany, Jan. 28 -- Already by the year 2004, one
out of every three cars in Europe will be equipped with the electronic
stability program (ESP).  This is the forecast made by market researchers at
Continental Teves in Frankfurt, one of the world's leading ESP manufacturers.
At the present time, the stability management system is used primarily by
German auto makers like Daimler Chrysler, Volkswagen and BMW.  According to
specialists at Teves, this is about to change, however, as other European
automobile manufacturers quickly follow suit.  Already this year European car
makers are expected to attain an ESP installation rate of around 7 percent.
    Continental Teves supplied close to 400,000 ESP units last year, with
300,000 of them going to German automakers.  This year the unit count will
soar to almost 1.4 million.  In 2002 the number of ESP systems supplied by
Continental Teves will, for the first time, greatly exceed 2 million.  For
2004 the company already has orders for a total of 3.5 million units.  This
figure may very well rise further as additional orders come in.
    ESP is a safety system that ensures the stability of a vehicle even in
critical situations.  It recognizes when the vehicle behaves differently than
the driver wants it to.  By braking individual wheels, it corrects understeer
and oversteer and thus keeps the vehicle on the road, especially on slick
roads and in curves.  Experts assume that around a tenth of all accidents
could be prevented if all vehicles were equipped with ESP.
    ESP has been offered as optional equipment on luxury-class cars for about
five years now.  It really began to conquer the market a few months ago when
DaimlerChrysler decided to have it installed as a standard feature in all
Mercedes types.  Meanwhile, it is also used in the compact category.
    Continental is already working on a second-generation ESP.  Here the tire
functions as part of a new sensor system in determining the forces at work
between the road and the tire.  This so-called sidewall torsion sensor (SWT)
determines a case of instability earlier than the previous sensor system.  In
this way, the performance capability of these systems can be further enhanced.
    Continental Teves has been a corporate group of Continental AG, Hannover,
since 1998.  With sales of around EU 9 billion, Continental ranked among the
top ten automotive suppliers in 1999.  Composed of the business segments
tires, technical products and brake systems, it has set its sights on assuming
a leading role with respect to the electronic chassis of the future.