“We’re in motion. Additionally, we are advancing the mobility industry. The dynamic role of the IT firm was highlighted by Continental CEO Nikolai Setzer during his speech at the latest Annual Shareholders’ Meeting of Continental.
Nikolai Setzer on Continental, Aurora’s Joint Effort to Develop the First Commercially Scalable Autonomous Trucking System?
Nikolai Setzer started by elaborating about the developments of Continental and Aurora’s collaboration to create the first commercially scalable autonomous trucking system in history. “Autonomous trucks were first just an idea, then a plan, and finally a reality.”
Autonomous trucking system’s architecture and design have already been decided upon by the two partners. The goal of production is 2027. In the USA, trucks run by Aurora are already on public roads; but, as a safety measure, a driver is still in charge. It won’t be long until they can function on their own.
Continental’s Leadership in Lidar and Radar Systems
Continental provides a variety of parts, including cameras and sensors like lidar and radar systems. All of these are combined into one intelligent system. Additionally, Continental offers a complete backup system, whose software assumes control of the car in the event that the autonomous driving system malfunctions. Nikolai Setzer stressed that, with their initiative, Continental and Aurora have created a viable business strategy. Instead of paying for specific parts, users of the autonomous trucking system will instead pay for each kilometer travelled. Continental’s CEO summarized, saying, “The new way we drive on the roads will change how we create value.”
Continental’s Long Legacy in Autonomous Car Technology
Nikolai Setzer emphasized that Continental offers to collaboration over 55 years of experience in autonomous car technology. The first autonomous car with electrical controls made its test track debut at the Contidrom in 1968. There, the technology business continues to conduct tire and brake testing as well as automated and autonomous driving. Continental commemorated the completion of its millionth test run on the unique AIBA (Automated Indoor Braking Analyzer) tire braking test facility at the start of 2024.
Strategies to Grow Despite Supply Chain Bottlenecks and Geopolitical Tension
Setzer emphasized that Continental is headed in the right direction, despite a slow start to the year. With a clear emphasis on value creation, the mobility and material technology group for safe, smart, and sustainable solutions has repositioned, is adhering to a defined plan, and is assiduously pursuing the objectives it has set for itself. “We’ve become more robust because of our past accomplishments, which give us a great foundation to build on,” Setzer added.
Because of the continuous strain on supply chains, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and the, at best, modest growth in global automobile output, Setzer anticipates that the geopolitical and economic climate will remain challenging. The CEO, in spite of everything, maintains his optimism and affirms the forecast for 2024: “At Continental, we aim to develop even more. much more quickly than the market.”
High Growth Emphasis in Three Group Industries
A forward-thinking portfolio with goods and services from all three group industries is essential to success. In the automotive industry, the emphasis is on high-growth, value-adding business sectors where Continental can use its system expertise, or its understanding of the optimal method to integrate cutting-edge hardware and intelligent software.
It doesn’t matter what software or hardware we use. It concerns both software and hardware. Setzer stressed, “And almost no other supplier can offer a broader portfolio here than us,” citing the fact that Continental’s hardware and software are installed in four out of every five new cars sold worldwide. “We’re in a strong position to benefit from emerging technologies that are important to consumers’ purchasing decisions.”
Furthermore, Continental provides the market with a variety of goods and services, including cutting-edge technology for increased sustainability, comfort and convenience, and safety. With its PremiumContact 7 model, for instance, the business is revolutionizing the tire market and setting new benchmarks.
For this reason, the ten largest electric car producers in the world in terms of volume relied on and utilized Continental tires in 2023. More than 500 original equipment certifications have been granted by automakers worldwide for their completely electric vehicles. Continental will be concentrating more on the industrial business under ContiTech, the group division for rubber and plastic material solutions.
Innovation, Transformation, Expertise and Collaboration are Key
Setzer clarified that at Continental, innovation and transformation, expertise and collaboration, and diversity and independence all go hand in hand. Opening in the summer of 2023, the TechCenter in Hamburg is among the most recent instances of boldly blazing new trails. From there, Continental organizes its international hydrogen-related initiatives. The industry is relying more and more on this energy source, which raises material requirements. Setzer said, “With our TechCenter, we’re creating a platform to bring innovations to market even faster.”
By continuing to create well-established products targeted at the market and concentrating on trends with potential for value creation, Continental is also supporting the focus on future growth by not just depending on emerging technology but also on existing products.
Setzer emphasized, “In many areas, we’re not waiting for future growth, but rather seizing the opportunity to create value now.” By introducing its sixth generation of radars, Continental is extending its 25-year success record. It just got an order for more than €1.5 billion worth of its newest product. The industrial division of ContiTech and ultra-high performance tires both show impressive outcomes. “We also mean to say that innovation and transformation open up new possibilities,” Setzer said.
Taking Responsibility – Sustainably
The goals of continental technologies are to increase mobility’s intelligence, sustainability, and safety. The CEO highlighted how important it is for staff members to have an imaginative spirit in order to develop new products and services and take charge of bettering the future. “Because we mean sustainable value when we say creating value.”
Reducing resource usage and CO2 emissions is a crucial component of sustainability for businesses. For instance, the company provides the digital tire service ContiConnect in the tire industry. This service provides fleet operators with accurate tire data, utilizing a clever blend of tire sensors, the cloud, and algorithms to notify them ahead of time when maintenance or tire changes are necessary.
This lowers the possibility of a failure, saves fuel, and lowers CO2 emissions. Additionally, Continental never stops trying to lessen the environmental impact of their tires.
In order to achieve enhanced sustainability, technical innovation is essential. and the circumstances that encourage these inventions. We need strong foundations instead of excessive regulation, bureaucracy, and unfair competitive advantage, Setzer stated, emphasizing the value of peace, free commerce, healthy educational systems, undamaged infrastructure, and diversity for both the economy and society. He clarified that ethical business practices include digital security as well.
After conducting a thorough investigation into the cyberattack that occurred in the summer of 2022, Continental took extensive precautions to guard against such assaults in the future. Setzer said, “This is just one more way we’re actively promoting sustainability.”
For the first time in five years, Continental CEO Nikolai Setzer latest Annual Shareholders’ Meeting of Continental was both live broadcast and in person.
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