Conti targets autonomous mobility in ‘next phase’ of restructuring 

Hanover, Germany – Continental AG is strengthening focus on the supply of systems for advanced driver assistance and automated driving in the next phase of its major turnaround, the German group announced 16 March. 

As of 1 Jan 2022, the group will have an independent “autonomous mobility” business area within the Automotive Technologies group sector and at its core will be the existing Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) business unit.

The business area will be led by Frank Petznick, who has headed the ADAS unit since August 2020.

“The autonomous mobility market will more than double in the next three years,” said Continental CEO Nikolai Setzer.

“Owing to the strategic significance of the necessary technologies and their promising growth prospects, we are intensifying our focus here by creating new structures to research, develop and industrialise these technologies,” he added.

In its 2020 preliminary figures published 9 March, Conti announced that it would be spending €200-€250 million on developing its technologies for assisted and autonomous driving during 2021. 

“We are expanding [our] position extensively, giving our activities in the area a big boost and gaining momentum as a top team in the autonomous mobility market,” Setzer added. 

As part of the strategic move, Continental will ‘open up’ to potential large-scale cooperation with technology partners and start-up companies. 

During 2018 and 2020, Continental received orders worth more than €9 billion in the assisted driving segment. 

The group said it intended to increase the amount “substantially” over the coming years. 

Also as part of the next phase of the restructuring programme, Continental’s supervisory board approved the spin-off of powertrains business Vitestco Technologies, in the second half of 2021. 

Continental unveiled its 2019–2029 structural programme in September 2019 and doubled its savings target in September last year. 
 
Likely to affect 30,000 jobs, the programme is intended to achieve gross annual savings of over €1 billion from 2023 onwards.