Munich — Continental AG bears little resemblance today to the company it was when it started 150 years ago this month. In truth, it is looking increasingly unfamiliar to the company it was even 20 years ago.
But if Continental management succeeds in its mission to create a new way forward, the German automotive megasupplier will look remarkably different just 10 years from now.
Speaking with Automotive News in Munich in September, Continental CEO Nikolai Setzer summed up the vision of what the old company is to become: As "strong in our hardware business and our heritage on one hand, but on the other, to become even more digital, more software-driven, more software-inclined."
"That's how we see the company in 10 years," Setzer said.
The parts and advanced vehicle systems producer no longer views itself as simply a maker of tires and other traditional automotive parts. The company is sharpening its focus on areas it sees as having high growth potential, particularly in software and self-driving vehicle technology.
As vehicles become greener and more high-tech, Continental's goal is to be an industry leader for high-performance in-vehicle computers, for the software that makes electronics components perform and for assisted- and automated-driving technology.