German tyre manufacturer, Continental, is putting safety first in a bid to win over Chinese consumers.
The Continental tyre plant Image:Continental |
A Hefei-based branch of Continental is targeting cautious car buyers by vowing to increase driving safety in China. Michael Egner, general manager at the $240m plant, claims Chinese consumers are becoming increasingly cautious and pledges Continental will take care of them.
The plant will produce 20-inch, self-supporting, runflat and winter tyres, all capable of dealing with radical seasonal changes and long-distance driving. Egner expects the facility to churn out over four million passenger and light truck tyres in its first phase, eventually reaching 16 million per year when the plant comes fully online.
“People in China, as I see it, are getting more conscious about safety, and driving safety has a lot to do with tyres”, said Egner. He continued, “China is the most important automobile market in the world”, stating that the nation accounted for over a third of global tyre production alone.