Despite two billion sales
Continental apparently wants to separate from the car division
8/21/2023 4:54 p.m
The tire business brings Continental hefty profits. The situation is different in the drive division, which, according to a media report, has to be cross-subsidised. The supplier therefore intends to sell the business unit.
According to a magazine report, the automotive supplier Continental is considering the sale of the automotive division bundled within Contitech. As reported by “Manager Magazin” with reference to company circles, the chairman of the supervisory board, Wolfgang Reitzle, is examining a realignment of the group with the board of directors led by CEO Nikolai Setzer. The project is officially still running as a test of “best ownership”. According to this, Contitech’s newly formed auto division is to be put up for sale, after all an area with sales of more than two billion euros, specializing in belts and sealing systems, among other things.
When asked, Continental did not want to take part in “rumors and speculation”, but in essence partially confirms the statements. In a statement from the automotive supplier, Contitech is accelerating the transformation against the background of rapid change in the automotive industry. The division intends to completely separate its automotive business, which is bundled in the Original Equipment Solutions (OESL) business area, from the other Contitech business areas within the next two years.
This strengthens the strategic focus on the industrial business that has been initiated “and enables the automotive business to develop its full potential. New strategic options are also opening up for the automotive business.” The project for the organizational independence of the OESL is “in the concept phase”. As soon as other relevant decisions have been made, the group will communicate them, said a Conti spokesman.
According to “Manager Magazin”, the new direction is clear for the group. Accordingly, the highly profitable tire business and the non-automotive part of Contitech are to be retained as the future core. “The rubber people have been financing the car business for years, and there is a risk of a rupture in the workforce,” the magazine quoted a top manager as saying.