Driven by its intent in augmenting support automotive safety in India, technology company Continental has announced the formation of a joint venture with Japanese firm Nisshinbo Holdings.
Continental and Nisshinbo’s relationship dates back to nearly 40 years through various business collaborations, with the first association was formed in 1982 through a technical license agreement, signed between Alfred Teves (now part of Continental AG) Nisshinbo.
Under the current JV, Nisshinbo will provide machining for producing valve block for Anti-lock Brake Systems (ABS) and Electronic Brake Systems (EBS) units, which later gets assembled into a complete unit at Continental’s Gurgaon plant with the integration of ECUs that are manufactured in its plant in Bangalore. The EBS portfolio includes Electronic Stability Control (ESC) for passenger cars and 2-wheelers. It will enable Continental further to increase the localised content in EBS production from India. Besides, it will help the company serve the Indian automotive market better, where the demand for EBS is vast and growing, thanks to growing consumer awareness and the efforts of industry and government.
The new joint venture gives Continental additional advantages of an optimised supply chain, ease of doing business, and further improved diversified global market position.
Prashanth Doreswamy, President and CEO, Continental India, said, “The new venture is another example of Continental’s commitment to manufacturing for India, in India. By partnering with Nisshinbo, we are now uniquely positioned to provide the Indian automotive sector with the latest safety technology, completely manufactured and assembled in India. Nisshinbo and Continental have the right synergies, and we are confident that our expertise will achieve a leadership position in the Indian market as well as in exports.”
Krishan Kohli, Head of Segment, Vehicle Dynamics and Hydraulic Brake Systems, Continental Automotive India, said, “Localisation is our key strategy in India. Our completely localised value chain, from R&D to manufacturing and sales, enables us to offer Indian consumers technologies that are better suited and affordable. This is in line with our focus for Vision Zero – a future with zero fatalities, injuries, and crashes, comes close on the heels of us achieving the milestone of 5 million units of Electronic Brake Systems (EBS) production this year at our Gurgaon plant.”