IDEC YOKOHAMA

Continental Automotive
Germany Multinational Automotive Parts Company Uses
Yokohama’s “Geographical Advantages” to Develop
New BusinessContinental Automotive Corporation is the Japanese subsidiary of global German automotive parts
manufacturer, Continental AG, which is headquartered in Hanover, Germany. Continental Automotive wasestablished in December 2000 as a joint venture of Continental AG and Japanese textile major, Nisshinbo
Holdings Inc., Its main business activities are to develop and produce technologies for sustainable andconnected mobility, for example brake and automated driving solutions. In 2004, Continental Automotivetransferred its head office from Tokyo to Yokohama, and subsequently concentrated its R&D activities aswell as management functions such as human relations and finance etc.

Speaker: Berthold Wolfram, President■ Business Development Utilizing Yokohama’s“Geographical Advantages”
Continental AG operates three businesses—the tire business, theautomotive business, which manufacturers automotive parts, and theindustry business—in 57 countries and regions around with world.
Among these, Continental Automotive Corporation is focused mainlyon the automotive business. We have five product business areas underthe head office, including break systems and car electronics, as well asa central R&D function where we develop applications together withour customers. Yokohama’s biggest advantage is its excellent accessto Tokyo, as well as Shin-Yokohama Station, Haneda Airport, and theShuto Expressway road network. This is because our customers areautomakers with bases in various locations around Japan, from WesternJapan to Northern Kanto. Moreover, the headquarters for the Group’s
automotive business is in Frankfurt, which has concluded a partner city
alliance with Yokohama. There are several flights a day connecting
Haneda Airport to Frankfurt.

■ Close Collaboration with Eight Japanese
Automakers.
Currently, the global automotive industry is facing a “once in acentury” period of transformation in terms of the environment andsafety. Not only are we seeing advances in technological innovationfor electrification and automated driving, but the very concept ofautomobile mobility is about to change.
In this environment, our strength is in our total knowledge ofeverything about cars, from tires to parts and car electronics. We
consider it a great advantage that we are able to handle everything fromtires to software all within the Group. Continental AG is also working in
the area of safety, where we have set a target of realizing a society freeof traffic accidents, which we call “Vision Zero.” First, we will workto achieve zero fatalities from traffic accidents, then zero injuries, andultimately zero accidents altogether. When we were coming up withthese targets, Japan is one of our most important markets, with eightautomakers concentrated here, and Continental Automotive Corporationis playing an extremely important role even from a global perspective.

■ Powerful Help from the I・TOP Yokohama Project
In July–December 2022, as part of Yokohama City’s I・TOP
Yokohama project, we operated a field operation test of traffic flow
observation using our sensors (radar and camera) at Minato Mirai 21district. The Intelligent Intersections was an example of cooperative
systems for an accident-free transportation society and was truly theembodiment of our corporate vision: “Creating Value for a Better
Tomorrow.” I believe this initiative was also made possible because ofour location in Yokohama.
（Interview date: July 2023）＜Company’s Profile>

Location: Aquaria Tower Yokohama, 1-1-32, Shinurashimacho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan

Continental Automotive
Corporation

Representative：Berthold Wolfram

Establishment： December 2000

Business Outline：Automotive parts manufacturer

URL：https://www.continental.com/ja-jp/