HANOVER, Germany—Continental A.G. has opened a development center for software and systems in Chongqing, China, in a bid to expand its digital activities for the automotive industry.
The technology company will employ a "low triple-digit" number of software and information technology experts at the center by the end of 2021, to prepare for growth in China's automotive market, Conti said in a news release.
Citing forecasts by a "renowned" consulting firm, Conti said it expected global automotive software sales to jump from $20 billion in 2019 to $50 billion in 2030.
"And China will be the largest market, accounting for around 34 percent of electronics and software revenue," the company statement said.
The technologies developed in China by Continental will be embedded in driver assistance systems. They also control high-performance computers and customer-friendly vehicle architectures, and enable end-to-end connectivity of vehicle systems.
"In China, speed is paramount. With our local development center for software and systems, we are driving future mobility in the country," said Enno Tang, president and CEO of Continental China.
Tang said the center will allow the company to act more flexibly and shorten the route to customers.