Start Signal for Watt and Volt in Series: Continental Affirms Course for Growth and Supplies the World's First Mass-Produced Electric Powertrain

Frankfurt am Main (ots) -

- High-Volume Production Launched for Vehicle Electric Motors
- Shaping Automotive Megatrends for Profitable Growth

The Continental Corporation views branch development trends
discernible at the 64th IAA in Frankfurt as affirmation of its
favorable outlook for long-term profitable growth. "In the future,
individual mobility will be characterized by increasing variety and
ever greater complexity. In the long run, only those adept at
mastering this complexity and capable of translating this mastery
into a steady stream of market innovations in step with megatrends in
the automotive industry stand a chance of being successful on the
world market," said the Continental CEO, Dr. Elmar Degenhart, at the
international automotive supplier's IAA press conference in Frankfurt
on Tuesday.

"Continental's innovative prowess enables it to play an active
role in shaping the megatrends in the branch. The company can thus
enjoy sustained profitability and grow at a faster-than-average pace
in emerging markets. Our innovations guarantee efficiency and high
quality while at the same time safeguarding our future as leading
international automotive supplier. "Our showing at this year's IAA
demonstrates that we are optimally equipped to take on the challenges
of the future. That is because we have at our disposal a broad
product portfolio, high systems competence and innovative prowess,
excellent quality management and, most importantly, 160,000 top
employees worldwide," he added.

At the same time, Degenhart affirmed the company's outlook for the
current fiscal year: We are sticking to our forecast that sales will
climb at least ten percent to EUR 29.5 billion this year, with an
adjusted return on sales of ten percent. It remains to be seen
whether the financial markets' unsettled state affects the real
economy. For 2012 we anticipate a slowdown but not a serious
recession. Thanks to its product portfolio, Continental would
experience growth in the mid-single-digit percentage range even in a
stagnant market."

Continental invests foresightedly in technologies and future
markets and, in so doing, creates new job opportunities as well. This
year we shall hire 10,000 employees. Since the crisis in 2009 in
fact, we have generated over 25,000 jobs. In 2011 the company is
spending EUR 1.6 billion on research and development - 10 percent
more than in 2010 (EUR 1.45 billion). The supplier is boosting
investments nearly 36 percent to as much as EUR 1.8 billion. A large
portion of this flows into the emerging markets, especially the BRIC
countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), where the company
intends to realize overproportional growth.

Continental is in the vanguard of e-mobility: Continental is the
world's first automotive supplier to build a highly efficient
synchronous machine for all-electric vehicles that contains no rare
earth materials. High-volume production is getting underway just in
time for IAA. This drive will equip Renault's electric vehicle fleet.
For this product alone, we have invested EUR 12 million in our plant
in Gifhorn in the north German state of Lower Saxony. Annual
production capacity is initially pegged at 60,000 electric motors.
Volume will, however, rise to 75,000 motors a year as of 2012.

Megatrend Safety - Vision "Zero Accidents"

Driving safety focuses on protecting human life in today's
congested and predominantly individual motor traffic. According to
the World Health Organization (WHO), 1.2 million people died on the
world?s roads last year. This means that there were roughly 3300
traffic fatalities every day. And it is estimated that at least
another 50 million people suffered injury in such accidents. 50
million people - that is more or less the population of South Korea.
To address this problem, Continental is developing products and
solutions geared to preventing traffic accidents and their fatal
consequences entirely. "Day in, day out, we are hard at work to
prevent more accidents from occurring or to reduce the severity of
those that do happen," said Degenhart. Fundamentally new modules are
added to active safety systems - in other words, systems that work to
prevent accidents from happening. With the stereo camera, for
example, Continental is taking a new tack in monitoring vehicle
surroundings. The device makes it possible to hinder - or at least
mitigate the consequences of - frequently occurring accidents
involving pedestrians or intersecting vehicles. The stereo camera has
two "eyes", so it can clearly recognize obstacles and measure how far
off and how big they are. This opens the door to a new generation of
anticipatory emergency brake assist systems. The company is an
innovation and market leader in the domain of driver assist systems.
Through 2015 it will supply automakers around the world with a total
of approximately 2.2 million emergency brake systems. In terms of
road safety, Continental occupies a special notch among suppliers.
This is because - alongside competence in other safety-relevant
components - it possesses tire expertise and thus masters the
vehicle's direct contact to the road.

Megatrend Environment - Vision "Clean Power"

Fossil fuel reserves are shrinking, meaning that we have to adopt
a sustainable approach in dealing with resources. At the same time,
increasingly stringent emissions limits create a demand for new drive
systems and new technologies. These must satisfy performance and
comfort requirements and aim for emissions-free driving. "We have
optimized our injection systems for diesel and gasoline engines to
better prevent emissions and arrive at more fuel-efficient
combustion. Our system solutions comprised of turbocharged engines
and direct-injection systems yield fuel savings of between 12 and 35
percent over standard gasoline engines," said Degenhart. "As for
diesel engines, combining high-end injection systems with downsizing
and thermal management itself has the potential to reduce consumption
ten percent. Our nitrogen oxide aftertreatment systems can boost the
savings a further four percent. All told, savings of up to 25 percent
are possible for diesel engines as well," the CEO added.

Many innovations in the environmental area stem from Continental's
Powertrain division, currently the corporation's fastest-growing
division. Its innovative prowess was a factor in enabling the
division to achieve a turnaround a year earlier than planned. A prime
example of Power-train's innovative prowess is the newly developed
fuel quality sensor. It helps protect the engine and the environment:
Determination of fuel quality also optimizes fuel injection, among
other things. Cutting-edge tire technology and interior foils also
contribute to conserving resources. The new ContiEcoContact 5 tire
combines short braking distances on dry and wet roads with low
rolling resistance. With it, cars stand to cut fuel consumption by up
to three percent on the road.* And on another front, the newly
developed TEPEO® foil for vehicle interiors saves up to two kilograms
per vehicle over today's most commonly used PVC foils.

Megatrend Information - Vision "Always On"

No longer an isolated shell, the car is today a complexly
networked system inside and out. In lightning speed it grasps all the
situations confronting the driver. In other words, what happens in
and outside the car is less and less a matter of isolated
coincidences and possible misjudgments but increasingly the result of
intelligent networking. "The growing demands of drivers in terms of
operability, functionality and safety and the growing trend to
e-mobility are upping the importance of in-car information management
in modern vehicles," Degenhart pointed out.

To date Continental has already supplied over 22 million
telematics systems. These link the vehicle with telecommunications
networks. According to a study from ABI Research, the share of
telematics units permanently installed in vehicles will rise from ten
percent to 62 percent in the 2010 to 2016 timespan. Continental is
likewise capable of supplying e-Call, the automatic emergency
notification system, which the EU intends to make mandatory.

The best example for the increasingly strong link between the auto
industry and telecommunications solutions is the possibility of
integrating the car key into one's cell phone as an encrypted data
package. This cell-phone key is capable of not only providing access
to the vehicle. It can likewise start the engine once one is inside
the vehicle. The digital key also assists the driver in personalizing
the vehicle. "Our Simplify your Drive concept has already
demonstrated how cross-domain networking can make it easier to adapt
a vehicle to its driver. This very concept can now be expanded,
making it possible, for example, for the driver to employ it in a
rental car in the future. The digital key can register all a driver?s
preferences, so that even when using a given rental car for the first
time, a motorist no longer has to adjust the infotainment system to
the desired settings, for example," explained Degenhart.

Megatrend Affordable Cars - Individual Mobility Possible All Over
The World

Experts estimate that affordable cars will account for roughly 20
percent of production land grow proportionally with the market
overall. "Affordable cars are not lower-quality vehicles equipped
with the most rudimentary components. They are, instead, cars within
the customers' means. They are minimalist and tailored to the
specific market. The functions in them are based on the latest
technologies and geared specifically to the intended customers and
regions," noted Degenhart. For Continental, the term "affordable
cars' refers mainly to vehicles in the ultra-low-cost, budget and
mini car segments. Locally developed, cost-effective and scalable
products for affordable cars include, for instance, the SPEED airbag
control unit, the EASY-U engine control unit, and the Basic Function
Controller for various comfort features. First introduced at the IAA
2009, these three products have proved a market hit in the meantime.
The convincing arguments in their favor are a scalable functional
range, cost effectiveness and sturdy construction. Carmakers pay
homage to this development achievement with a total of close to 70
production orders for the products cited.

Special Trend E-Mobility

"Continental boasts a wide-ranging product portfolio for safe,
efficient and comfortable e mobility. In addition, we also have a
worldwide network of roughly 1,600 specialists in battery system and
electric powertrain technology, regenerative braking,
rolling-resistance-optimized tires and interior applications. The
company has numerous series orders to show for itself for the
2009-to-2013 timespan: Roughly 90 series projects with 17
manufacturers' worldwide involving components for electric and hybrid
vehicles. These include key components, such as, for example,
electric motors, power electronics, battery technology,
instrumentation, telematics, regenerative brake systems, sensor
systems and components for safe charging. Close to 60 percent of
these projects are for components and systems for e-vehicles. A large
share of these are developed and produced in Europe; products for
some orders are manufactured in Asia.

* Compared to the predecessor ContiEcoContact 3. The figures are
based on an internal comparison which was realized in 2010.

With sales of EUR 26 billion in 2010, Continental is among the
leading automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake
systems, systems and components for powertrains and chassis,
instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires
and technical elastomers, Continental contributes to enhanced driving
safety and global climate protection. Continental is also an expert
partner in networked automobile communication. Continental currently
has close to 160,000 employees in 45 countries.

Contact:
Dr. Felix Gress
Leiter Unternehmenskommunikation
Continental AG
Vahrenwalder Straße 9
30165 Hannover
Telefon: +49 511 938-1485,
Fax: +49 511 938-1055
E-Mail: prkonzern@conti.de

Hannes Boekhoff
Leiter Medien
Continental AG
Vahrenwalder Straße 9
30165 Hannover
Telefon: +49 511 938-1278,
Fax: +49 511 938-1016
E-Mail: corporate-media-relations@conti.de