Continental Forms Joint Venture with Nexteer Automotive

Leading automotive components and tire manufacturer Continental AG has teamed up with Nexteer to form a new joint venture company. The two companies announced during a press conference at the North American International Auto Show that their joint venture will focus on the advancement of motion control systems and actuator components for automated driving. The new company will benefit from Nexteer’s advanced steering and driver assistance (ADAS) technologies as well as Continental’s portfolio of Automated Driving and advanced braking technologies which will expedite its own development of vehicle motion control systems.

Speaking about the new venture, Frank Jourdan, Member of Continental’s Executive Board and President of the Chassis & Safety Division said that the joint venture will perfectly complete                         Continental’s product portfolio for automated driving. Continental is one of the key players in the field of assisted and automated driving. The two companies will now collaborate to develop the best integrated systems for longitudinal and lateral motion control for automated driving applications.

Frank Lubischer, Senior Vice President of Global Engineering, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Strategy Officer for Nexteer Automotive said that the new company will give an impetus to the development of robust vehicle dynamics and safety as the motion control venture will accelerate Nexteer and Continental’s advancements in automated driving. The team at the new company will work on braking and steering systems integration, enhanced by-wire development as well as create common safety architectures and strategies for redundant, operationally safe systems.

Both companies will have an equal 50-50 percent stake in the joint venture, which will focus on research and development activities including rapid evaluation, design and prototyping. It will combine the global resources and expertise of both Nexteer and Continental in a bid to enhance the development of advanced motion control systems and components for automated driving.

“This arrangement will create a way for both of our companies to collaborate on integrating state-of-the-art electronic brake and steering systems to achieve ideal vehicle dynamics and safety, as well as increasing value for our shareholders,” Lubischer said.

Initially, the venture will source employees from the existing technical staff at  both Nexteer and Continental with plans for future growth. Pending regulatory approvals, the new company is expected to become operational in the first quarter of 2017.

“We look forward to a collaboration which will develop breakthrough ideas to further develop systems that will improve safety as we look toward the future of automated driving,” Jourdan said.