Continental to Restructure Company Based on Nature of Verticals

In what is being termed as the largest organizational realignment in the company’s history, Continental has decided to restructure the company based on the nature of the verticals. The goal of the restructuring exercise is to achieve a rate of growth that is faster that the growth of the market and thus leverage the potential for expansion in areas of mobility that are projected to expand fast in the future.

Continental will be reorganized as a holding company under the new Continental Group umbrella brand. This holding company will be underpinned by three key verticals – Continental Rubber, Continental Automotive and Powertrain. This new reporting structure and the new names will come into effect from 2020. These business sectors will be established step by step or, where necessary, enhanced.

From 2020, the current Chassis & Safety and Interior divisions will be reorganized and will be transformed into two business areas that will be renamed as “Autonomous Driving Technologies’ and ‘Vehicle Networking Technologies’. Their business performance will be reported as part of the new Continental Automotive group sector. Both these areas will be supported by a newly created central Automotive Research and Development function.

The current tire division which will be renamed as “Tire Technologies” and ContiTech will continue to retain their independent organizational structure. Their business performance will be reported as part of the future Continental Rubber group sector.

Announcing the restructuring move, Dr. Elmar Degenhart, Continental CEO said that it was indeed a historic occasion for Continental, as the company was heading at full speed into the future of mobility. He said that Continental has gained a remarkable competitive edge thanks to its proven readiness and capacity to change and wants to use this advantage to the. The realignment is expected to make the company exceptionally flexible and agile. Continental is now positioning itself to remain competitive and to meet upcoming challenges both now and in the future. This calls for pioneering and innovative excellence.

Degenhart added, “With this alliance, we are opening up new, promising perspectives for our customers, employees, investors and all other stakeholders.”

Degenhart concluded by saying that in the next few years he expects that he expects the global automotive industry to undergo the largest and most profound transformation in its over 130-year history within the next few years. The company is doing its part to shape this transformation by looking ahead and taking on this transformation at an early stage.