Continental looks to wow auto makers with latest technology

AUBURN HILLS, Mich.—Continental A.G., a 150-year-old company synonymous with car tires, wants you to know that it’s not your father’s automotive supplier.

For Aruna Anand, CEO of the German supplier’s North America automotive sector, next-generation technology and business optimization are the core focus as the company goes through restructuring and electric vehicle growing pains on the global level.

Continental hosted media and industry members recently at its Auburn Hills base for a post-Consumer Electronics Show showcasing of the supplier’s latest wares, from sleek, Swarovski crystal displays to 180-degree corner modules and its smart cockpit high-performance computer.

On the sidelines of the exhibit, Anand, who took the helm a little more than a year ago, explained how the rulebook for suppliers has changed as the industry moves at an unprecedented pace.

“The business models are evolving,” Anand told Crain’s Detroit Business, a Rubber News sister publications.

 “We need all of us to reinvent ourselves. We need to be able to offer services, either selling software or selling a function or different kinds of integration services, as well as selling hardware and software the traditional business also holds.”

The supplier’s pursuit to dominate the software-defined vehicle comes amid financial troubles. Parent company Continental A.G. said late last year that it would lay off thousands of workers globally to reduce costs as it explores strategic alternatives for its automotive business, including asset sales and carving out its user experience unit, Bloomberg reported in December.

In North America, Anand said the company is constantly evaluating opportunities to optimize the business, from its footprint to manufacturing operations. The company declined to detail what impact the cost cutting and planned layoffs would have on the region.

“We are constantly looking at all of our footprint, especially now to see if there’s a need to optimize,” Anand said. “We’re trying to adapt as fast as we can to this environment.”

Continental employs nearly 16,000 people in the U.S. across three business sectors: automotive, ContiTech and tires. In Michigan, it employs more than 1,500 people, around 75 percent of them in Auburn Hills. Its automotive sector includes four business areas: architecture and networking, autonomous mobility, safety and motion and user experience.

The blazing speed of vehicle development today compared with just a couple of years ago has led to another new dynamic: supplier partnerships. In the cutthroat world of automotive supply, relationships have traditionally been one-to-one, but now auto makers want the best of everything and Continental can capitalize on integrating it, Anand said.

“There are other suppliers that are uniquely positioned to offer other features,” she said. “So then the question becomes, if more are able to collaborate on different aspects of the software, the better it gets overall. You don’t have to be stuck with a one-to-one relationship. It can be one-to-many in terms of everybody providing the best pieces of software."

As an example, the CEO points to its first high-performance computer in Volkswagen’s ID.3, which Continental developed with nearly 40 different software providers.

Partnerships were a key theme throughout the supplier’s tech exhibit, too. At the autonomous valet parking booth, a Continental representative detailed how the company can use sensors installed in infrastructure, such as a parking garage, airport or stadium, to communicate with cars to park themselves.

The company is working with Bosch at the Detroit Smart Parking Lab and exploring opportunities for interoperability, the rep said.

At another display, employees were showing off the eTravel Companion concept. Powered by Google, and with content collaboration from WPP, the software serves as a virtual co-pilot using personal and environmental data to enhance the driving experience.

While on a road trip, for example, the system can suggest places to go depending on the mood of a driver. It could also allow them to purchase tickets for a ballgame or show it right on their display, opening up what no auto maker or company can resist: shared revenue streams.

“The more adaptable you are to understand the needs of OEMs and able to integrate it into your business plan, the better success you will get,” Anand said. “This provides something nice where you have the best of everything coming together, and overall it’s a better feature set.”