“We’re on the move. And we’re moving the world of mobility forward.” During his speech at today’s Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, Continental CEO Nikolai Setzer emphasized the technology company’s dynamic role. The meeting was held in person for the first time in five years and was also streamed live.
Setzer began by looking at the progress made in Continental’s partnership with Aurora to develop the world’s first commercially scalable autonomous trucking system. “For a long time it was just an idea, then it was a plan – now it’s a reality: autonomous trucks.” The two partners have already defined the design and finalized the architecture of the system. Production is planned for 2027. Trucks operated by Aurora are already on public highways in the USA – still with a driver at the wheel as a precaution. In just a few years, they will be completely autonomous.
Continental supplies multiple components, including sensors – such as radar and lidar systems – and cameras. It combines all these into one smart system. Continental also provides the entire fallback system, whose software takes control of the vehicle should the autonomous driving system fail. The CEO emphasized that Continental and Aurora have opened the door to an attractive business model with their project. Customers of the autonomous trucking system will no longer pay for individual components, but rather for each kilometer driven. “In short, the new way of driving on the roads will change how we create value,” Setzer explained.
He pointed out that Continental brings more than 55 years of expertise in driverless vehicles to the partnership. In 1968, the first electronically controlled, driverless test vehicle took to the test track at the Contidrom. The technology company still carries out automated and autonomous driving and tire brake tests there today. At the beginning of 2024, Continental celebrated its millionth test run on the one-of-a-kind tire braking test facility AIBA
On course for growth despite headwinds
Setzer underlined that, despite a sluggish start to this year, Continental is on the right track. The mobility and material technology group for safe, smart and sustainable solutions has repositioned itself, is following a clear plan and is rigorously implementing the goals it has set itself with a clear focus on value creation. “Our past accomplishments give us a great foundation to build on, because we’ve become more robust,” Setzer explained. Setzer expects the geopolitical and economic environment to remain difficult due to the war in Ukraine, ongoing strained supply chains and low growth at best in global automotive production. Despite all this, the CEO remains confident, confirming the outlook for 2024: “We want to continue to grow at Continental. And at a faster pace than the market.”
