Continental is Supplying All Innovative, Disruptive Makers of Premium Electric Vehicles with Interior Surfaces

Continental is shaping the future of automobility. As a provider
of visionary ideas for the automotive industry, the company is actively redefining vehicle interiors
as trendy, mobile work and living spaces that are much more than just functional. For this purpose,
the technology company Continental is supplying all of the world’s innovative and disruptive
premium manufacturers with state-of-the-art surface materials. “In 2020 alone, we generated about
a tenth of our global sales with interior materials for electrically powered vehicles. We are
experiencing tailwind that has helped us growing faster than the market,” explains Dr. Dirk Leiß,
responsible for the Surface Solutions business unit at Continental. In 2020 alone, Continental
produced a total of about 100 million square meters of surface materials – nearly the equivalent of
14,000 German soccer fields or 17,000 American football fields. “Our outlook for the future also
gives us great cause for optimism, with orders already on our books worth a total of about a billion
euros over the entire model cycles of the vehicles concerned,” adds Leiß.
Continental sees great business potential in this fast-growing segment over the next several years,
and is therefore stepping up its focus on materials for the interiors of electric and autonomous
vehicles as well as alternative mobility concepts tailored to the design and material requirements of
individual customers. As specialists in surface solutions, Continental maintains an international
team of developers and designers, trend scouts and creative minds collaborating daily from 13
different sites around the globe to ensure that drivers and passengers have a safe, comfortable
and thoroughly enjoyable on-the-road experience in their vehicles, now and well on into the future.
Vehicle interiors are on their way to becoming extended living and working environments, with
drivers and passengers benefiting from materials offering maximum comfort, high-grade design,
smart functionality and durability.

“Thanks to experience and know-how gathered in various industries over decades – for example in
the furniture industry – we are able to selectively leverage synergies and create solutions in perfect
alignment with our customers’ needs,” remarks Leiß. Even though it’s still going to take a few years
for electrically powered and self-driving vehicles to rule the roads, the wave of transformation
sweeping across the automotive industry is growing, and the demand for electromobility continues
to ride high. “Today we are already helping customers from around the world to turn their vehicles’
interiors into trendy living and working spaces while at the same time meeting the highest demands
in terms of design and functionality,” says Leiß.
Sustainable, environmentally compatible materials for future mobility
Due to the reputation of electrically powered and autonomous vehicles as sustainable and
resource-saving, special demands are placed on the surface materials used for their interiors. Just
as the automotive industry has been taking huge strides towards sustainability, customer interest in
“green” materials is very much on the rise. Vehicle drivers and manufacturers, alike, are
increasingly calling for interiors made of environmentally friendly components and materials. For
many drivers of electric vehicles, a complete avoidance of materials of animal origin is also at the
top of the agenda. In response to these demands, Continental’s surface specialists are
increasingly concentrating on sustainable and recycled materials. The trend toward light colors and
shades of white is also indicative of the new mindset, which is likewise giving rise to materials with
a convincingly wood-like, natural look & feel without the need to sacrifice a single tree in their
making.
With its broad portfolio of materials, colors, textures and decors, Continental has each and every of
the above requirements covered. The challenges to be faced, on the other hand, are diverse. For
example, the fabrics used for light-colored or white car seats need to be resistant to discoloration
from clothing worn by drivers and passengers, e.g. blue jeans, and other colored fabrics. Surfaces
with special light effects are also in high demand. “Our translucent Acella Hylite Concept paves the
way for the automotive future: It creates light effects by backlighting surfaces – something in
demand not least for electric and autonomous vehicles,” emphasizes Ralf Imbery, who bears
responsibility for surface material innovation, transformation and design at Continental.

Health first: Disinfectant-resistant and stain-resistant surface materials
The future of mobility was a hot topic even well before the pandemic, but now that the popularity of
carsharing has plummeted over the past year and a half due to the fear of contagion, new
concepts are needed more than ever. By the same token, carsharing has been losing major
ground vis-à-vis personally owned and driven vehicles, which are seen as offering a significantly
greater margin of safety. “While the sharing trend is currently on hiatus, it will pick up again once
the pandemic is over,” remarks Imbery, adding: “The pandemic has led to much greater attention
being placed on surface materials offering special hygienic properties,” explains Imbery. For
tomorrow’s carsharing concepts, in particular it is imperative that all of the interior surfaces and
fabrics used be antimicrobial, rugged, long-lasting, resistant to soiling and easy to clean and
disinfectant-resistant.