Continental at a glance
Continental was founded in Hanover in 1871. At first the company made soft rubber goods and bicycle tyres. In 1904 Continental unveiled the world's first car tyre with a tread pattern. Before that, car tyres were smooth and dangerous on slippery roads. Continental went on to become one of the world's largest tyre manufacturers, with several other European tyre brands under its roof. The firm's original name was Continental-Caoutchouc- und Gutta-Percha Compagnie.
Continental is a German listed company, and tyres now form the core of the group. In Europe its car tyres are made in Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Portugal and Romania, among other places. Continental belongs to the premium price bracket. The group also owns Barum, Uniroyal and Semperit, which cover the more affordable price brackets. Many carmakers fit Continental tyres to new cars straight from the factory. Continental tests its Nordic winter tyres in Arvidsjaur, Sweden.
Continental winter tyres are well known in the Nordic countries. The studded range is IceContact, currently the IceContact 3. The Nordic friction tyre is called VikingContact, while the WinterContact TS 870 is built for Central European conditions. Among Continental's summer tyres, the PremiumContact 7 focuses on comfort and the SportContact 7 on sporty driving. For year-round driving, Continental offers the AllSeasonContact 2. For SUVs there is the CrossContact range.