Driving Confidence. Since 1871.

Hannover, Germany

1871

While our company was formed before the automobile was invented, we’ve always been passionate about driving mobility.  Our original factory in Vahrenwalder Street manufactured solid tyres for carriages and bicycles, as well as hot water bottles and raincoats from rubber.  

The famous Continental rampant horse logo also stems from our beginning in Hannover.  It’s a traditional symbol in the region - it originally appeared on the coat of arms for a 14th-century duke and it’s still in use today in the German state of Lower Saxony.  It was chosen for the symbolism it brings; strength, agility and endurance.  

The birth of the automobile industry

1901-1930

On March 25 1901 Karl-Benz entered his new automobile (called ‘Mercedes’) into the Nice-Salon-Nice car race.  It covered the 414km course in 6 hours 45 minutes.  That Mercedes was fitted with the newly invented pneumatic tyres.  They were produced by Continental.  It was the start of something special:

1904.  We presented the world's first automobile tyre with a patterned tread.  It is arguably the first recognition of tyre traction as being of major importance for handling, stability and safety.   

1908:  We launched a detachable rim.  It saved time and effort for drivers of large sedans when a tyre change was needed.

1921:  We are the first German company to release a cord tyre on the market. Cord fiber fabric is more pliable, marking it as a significant upgrade from the stiffer linen square-woven fabric.

1926:  Carbon black is adopted for tyre production.  Used as a reinforcing filler for greater resistance to wear and ageing, tyres will now be forever black.

Racing success

(1931-1960)

As motorsport gained in popularity, we started making tyres for teams from Mercedes and Auto-Union (known today as Audi).  After four consecutive victories in the German Grand Prix, wins the North African Tripoli race and in Italy, Continental tyres helped racers set numerous speed records in the ever-evolving and more powerful machines.

Then in 1943, we were granted a patent for tubeless car tyres.  This heralded another sustained period of innovation and a return to the race track.  As high-speed Continental tyres supported the racing success of early motorsport legends such as Sterling Moss, Karl Kling and Juan Manuel Fangio, we launched the first speciality tyres for mud and snow (1952).  This was closely followed by the introduction of tubeless tyres for passenger cars.  

Then in 1960, we began to mass produce radial tyres.  It was the biggest change to tyres for a generation.  The company introduces the letter “r” for designation of these tyres, which subsequently becomes standard for tyre manufacturers all over the world. 

1968

The world's first driverless car

The newly built Contidrom (1967) is home to the world’s first electronically controlled driverless car, much to the amazement of the assembled press and public.  The visionary project introduced a new level of scientific rigour to testing, with specificity and preciseness previously lacking from test conditions.  Autonomous driving itself was not the goal, rather it was a by-product of making the tyres safer with more controlled testing. 

1972-1990

An era of expansion 

The first few years of testing at the Contidrom start to pay dividends.  In 1972, Continental launched the studless ContiContact winter tyre.  It was a significant enhancement in road safety when driving in adverse seasonal conditions. The growing success, underpinned by innovation and advancement, leads to global expansion.  In 1979, Continental began to solidify its European base by taking over the European operations of Uniroyal.  This was complimented by the 1985 acquisitions of Austrian company, Semperit.  Then in 1987, the company established Continental Tire North America, following the acquisition of North American tire manufacturer, General Tire.

1991-2021

The road to sustainability

Long before sustainability enjoyed the high profile of today, our experts were considering the ecological impact of tyres.  An early result of this work was the launch of the ContiEcoContact tyre in 1991.  Considered the world’s first sustainable tyre, it featured a much reduced rolling resistance and greatly resistance to tyre wear.  In short, it helped reduce fuel use and lasted longer than other tyres.  Now in its 5th generation, the ContiEcoContact continues to be ranked as best in class in independent tests.  

Greater control of the supply chain and global logistics was made possible in 1998, with sites added in Argentina, Mexico, South Africa and Slovakia.  

The ContiSportContact 2 Vmax was unveiled in 2003, the world’s first road tyre approved for speeds of up to 360 km/h. Later, we were officially recognized by Guinness World Records for selling the fastest road-legal tyres in the world.

In 2007, we acquired Siemens VDO Automotive AG and became one of the top five suppliers in the automotive industry worldwide. Simultaneously, the company boosted its market position in Europe, North America, and Asia.

The ContiLifeCycle rolled out in 2013, addressing the service life of Continental truck tires. Applying a totally unique combination of rubber recycling and truck tire retreading, we developed a sustainable solution that extends the service life of tires while considerably lowering costs.

Then in 2018, we opened ‘Taraxagum Lab Anklum’.  Pioneering the development of rubber from the Russian Dandelion, it could become the most significant change to tyre manufacturing in recent memory. 

2022 - Beyond

The future

We are currently working on developing two brand new tyre technology concepts we believe will lead to even greater road safety and comfort in the future. The two systems – ContiSense and ContiAdapt – enable continuous monitoring of the tire’s condition, plus the ability to spontaneously match tire performance characteristics to the prevailing road conditions. 

ContiSense is based on the development of electrically conductive rubber compounds that enable electric signals to be sent from a sensor in the tire to a receiver in the car. ContiAdapt combines micro-compressors integrated into the wheel to adjust the tire pressure with a variable-width rim. This enables the system to modify the size of the contact patch, which under different road conditions is a decisive factor for safety and comfort.

Both ContiSense and ContiAdapt have been integrated into a concept tire that enables the benefits of both systems to be fully leveraged. The tire design features three different tread zones for driving on wet, slippery or dry surfaces. Depending on the tire pressure and rim width, different tread zones are activated and the concept tire adopts the required “footprint” in each case. In this way, the tire characteristics adapt to the prevailing road conditions or driver preferences.