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The logo of Continental AG: The car manufacturer wants to miss a new structure. Photo: Holger Hollemann
Source: dpa-infocom GmbH
Many suppliers and car manufacturers do not know what the future holds for them. Some are divided into a promising part and a less promising part. Conti wants to bring the technology of training to the stock market.
H annover (dpa) – The automaker and tire manufacturer Continental want to miss a new structure and prepare for the future.
After months of exploration, the company decides to split its propulsion division early in the year as announced Continental Wednesday. A sublist is expected by mid-2019 possible. The company intends to maintain control in the medium and long term.
The Propulsion Division includes technology for internal combustion engines as well as parts for electric drives. The lucrative tire division, however, remains completely in the Group – for now, because the boss of Conti Elmar Degenhart keeps an open backdoor. If there was to be a chance in the future for a major purchase that the company would not want to miss, then the tire division could at least partially be put on the stock market, he said at the time. a conference call.
Above, the enthusiasm flattens out but then. The group had already looked once to outsource the company with the powertrains, but then decided against it.
According to industry expert Stefan Bratzel, the biggest restructuring of the group in its history, according to Conti, offers "huge opportunities". From the investor's point of view, more independent of the group, the individual divisions enjoyed greater independence and were therefore easier to market, said the Market Research Manager Center of Automotive Management
. Digitization could focus on strengthening and strengthening the forward-looking divisions in Conti's other holding structure – other areas could be sold on the model of a "bad bank", according to the expert. Bratzel particularly emphasized the orientation of the software as crucial. "Society is doing well, but at the same time, it must be ready for the future," he said.
Continental will be managed as a holding company in the future. There are three commercial pillars: tires, the supplier sector and the powertrain. The change requires the approval of the Supervisory Board, which will meet on July 26, 2018. Degenhart stated that the supervisors had accompanied the previous process in a constructive manner and that the Board of Directors approved even the largest shareholder, the Schaeffler industrial family.
Jobs should not be removed by conversion. Ariane Reinhart. In the coming years, thousands of new workers would be needed in the company. The Drive division has excellent growth opportunities, said Degenhart. You also get an attractive starting position with the electric controls. The division is not a "bad bank".
The automotive industry is currently in transition. Many suppliers and automakers are repositioning to remain flexible, among others, Daimler is reviewing the changes. It is still unclear whether customers will buy as many electric cars in the future as companies think – but the industry is under pressure to further reduce exhaust emissions. "Over the next decade and beyond, the automotive industry is experiencing the most significant and profound change in its history of more than 130 years around the world," said Mr. Degenhart. "We are tackling this change from the start and with foresight."
"Conti is pulling the plug of the internal combustion engine," said Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, industry expert at Automotive Research Center. The strategy is brilliant because now you still get money in the stock market. "2025 will be the cost of the rehabilitation of this company," he said. For other suppliers, the Conti conversion is a wake-up call to prepare for the future.
The spin-off drive activity initially generates costs for the Group and will result in operating costs of approximately 350 million euros. The vast majority of them will occur in 2018 and 2019. In addition, there would be tax disadvantages, rising to about 100 million euros and mainly incurred in 2019, Continental said. The group's outlook for 2018 remains intact.
According to Degenhart, the money from an under-registration could, among other things, be poured into the construction of a battery – but with semiconductor technology, considered the next generation . A decision on this will probably not happen until after 2020, he added. The manager also cited the field of mobility services as an area where investment could be worth it.
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