Tag: continental-tires

Continental’s New Off-Road Tyre, CrossContact A/T² Hits Indian Roads

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Continental Tires, a leading global tyre manufacturer, marked the Indian launch of its new all-terrain product, the CrossContact A/T², with an adventurous Continental Tires’ Track Day at Dot Goa 4X4. With this, the country becomes one of the first few markets globally to introduce this next-generation product, which blends German engineering precision with rugged versatility to ensure a smooth ride across challenging terrains.

The highly anticipated launch of the CrossContact A/T² reiterates Continental’s growing commitment to the Indian market.

“India’s 4×4 vehicle segment is experiencing sharp growth, driven by a growing passion for adventure and long-distance travel. With our ‘In the Market, For the Market’ approach, we continually innovate to meet the demands of Indian road conditions and deliver enhanced driving experiences. The CrossContact A/T² delivers high performance across the diverse terrains and topographies that India offers,” said Samir Gupta, Managing Director, Continental Tires India.

He further added, “India is the first market globally to introduce the CrossContact A/T². This decision is a testament to Continental’s commitment to the Indian market. We remain committed to delivering cutting-edge solutions tailored to our Indian customers.”

CrossContact A/T²: Engineered for Performance. Designed for Adventure

Built for power, performance, and precision, the CrossContact A/T² is engineered for SUVs and 4x4s, offering superior grip across all surfaces: mud, gravel, sand, wet highways or rocky trails. Designed for modern, adventurous lifestyles, it brings a confident on-road feel and unshaken off-road capability. Key Technologies in CrossContact A/T²:

●       BlackPaw™ Compound: Adaptive traction tech that maintains elasticity and control across hot, cold, dry, and wet surfaces.

●       Self-Cleaning Shoulders: Open tread patterns and stone ejectors dislodge slush, mud, and debris to keep you moving clean and steady.

●       Rigid Tread Block Geometry: Reduces hydroplaning and enhances braking efficiency with precisely angled groove design.

●       Reinforced Sidewalls: Built tough to resist cuts, abrasions, and trail damage, ensuring long-term durability and control.

Continental Bags Award For “Tire Manufacturer of the Year” And Recognized For Environmentally Friendly Tire Production

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Continental has been awarded “Tire Manufacturer of the Year” at this year’s Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence. The premium tire manufacturer received a further honour for its tire plant in Lousado, Portugal, which has produced tires CO2-neutrally since last year. This makes Continental the only tire manufacturer to win two of the prestigious awards, outperforming the competition as “Tire Manufacturer of the Year” as well as in the category “Environmental Achievement of the Year – Manufacturing”. The awards were bestowed as part of the Tire Technology Expo on March 4 at the exhibition center in Hanover. They are regarded as some of the top honours in the industry.

“We are especially proud to be the only manufacturer to be honored twice at the Tire Technology Awards in an extremely competitive field,” says Edwin Goudswaard, Head of Research and Development at Continental Tires. “Both awards highlight our strong commitment to sustainable tire development and manufacturing. In such a highly competitive market, this success demonstrates our innovative prowess and our ability to actively shape the future of the industry.”

Competition in both categories was fierce. As “Tire Manufacturer of the Year,” Continental outperformed competitors from the USA, Italy, and France. This marks the fourth time Continental has received this title – most recently in 2022.
Sustainability efforts are becoming an increasingly important focus for the industry, and therefore for the awards. By naming Continental “Tire Manufacturer of the Year” for 2024, the jury of 27 independent industry experts acknowledged Continental’s ongoing achievements on the road to greater sustainability. The projects considered in their deliberations included increasing the share of sustainable materials through recycled PET bottles at further Continental plants, expanding the plant in Rayong, Thailand, according to the highest energy-efficiency standards, obtaining the international sustainability certification ISCC-PLUS for its plants in Lousado, Portugal, Puchóv, Slovakia, and Hefei, China, as well as upgrading the tire plant in Hefei with automation technology in line with state-of-the-art sustainability standards.

Continental has also repeatedly impressed the jury in award categories that specifically recognize environmentally friendly development and production measures. In 2024, for example, the company took top spot in the category “Environmental Achievement of the Year – Tire Design” with its sustainable production of the tire UltraContact NXT. This year, Continental won the prize in the “Manufacturing” category for the sustainability measures at its tire plant in Lousado, Portugal. Since 2024, the plant has been testing a CO2-neutral production process that advances the company’s ambition to achieve carbon neutrality. Thanks to a fully electric steam boiler, Continental generates the steam using both in-house produced solar power and renewable energy from the grid. Steam is needed to heat the rubber compound for the tires during the so-called vulcanization. During this process, raw rubber is turned into a flexible, elastic form. In the tire industry, a large proportion of the consumed energy is used for generating steam. Previously, the Lousado tire plant relied exclusively on natural gas for steam generation. With an annual production capacity of 18 million tires, the plant in Lousado is considered a mega plant. Continental is aiming to switch all of its tire plants to fully carbon-neutral production processes by 2040 at the latest.

The Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence have been bestowed since 2008 as part of the Tire Technology Expo in Hanover each spring. The prizes span 13 categories honoring the latest innovations in tire technology and major advances on the road to a more sustainable tire industry. The award ceremony is coordinated by the industry magazine “Tire Technology International.”