Continental's Powertrain Division:
Innovative and efficient solutions for reducing emissions, optimizing fuel
consumption and delivering outstanding handling characteristics
Regensburg, March 2009. The Powertrain Division within Continental AG, the international
automotive supplier, brings together innovative and efficient system solutions affecting every
aspect of a vehicle's drive train. The objective of the Powertrain Division is not only to make
driving more affordable and environmentally acceptable but also to make it a more
pleasurable and less stressful experience. With its comprehensive portfolio, from gasoline
and diesel systems including sensors, actuators and tailor-made electronics, via fuel supply
systems, engine management and transmission control units, to design solutions for hybrid
and electric drives, the Division offers its customers a full range of systems and components.
By combining its innovative strengths with its systems and manufacturing expertise in stateof-the-art drive technology, the Powertrain Division has confirmed Continental AG's leading
position amongst the top automotive suppliers. The Division's expanded development and
system know-how gives it a broad base and places it among the world's top three.
With sales in excess of €4 billion in 2008, the Division is an active global player in every
market.
Continental's Powertrain Division, based in Regensburg, is sub-divided into the following
business units:

Engine Systems

Transmission

Sensors & Actuators

Fuel Supply

Hybrid Electric Vehicles
In addition to his role as Chief Executive Officer of Continental AG, Dr. Karl-Thomas
Neumann also heads the Powertrain Division which employs a workforce of some 25,000 at
over 60 sites throughout the world.
Engine Systems
The expertise of the Engine Systems business unit lies in particularly advanced electronically
controlled injection systems for gasoline and diesel engines and their associated electronics.
These systems have an important role to play in ensuring the future of the internal
combustion engine. As early as 2000, piezo technology revolutionized common rail injection
systems in diesel engines. The piezo injectors atomize the diesel fuel particularly finely and
inject it even more accurately, producing highly efficient combustion. This means that piezo
technology is contributing to compliance with the limits for nitrogen oxides and particulate
matter (Euro 6 and US Tier 2) which come into effect in 2014 and to reductions in CO2
emissions by a further 3 percent compared with traditional direct diesel injection. Engines
fitted with piezo common rail injection also offer better performance while, at the same time,
being more economical and quieter. In 2006, this ground-breaking piezo technology was also
introduced into gasoline engines. Here, too, piezo ceramic elements rather than the usual
solenoid valves are used to inject the fuel. Compared with conventional manifold injection,
this reduces both consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 20 percent. The manifold and
direct injection techniques developed by the Engine Systems business unit also help to
reduce consumption, both from traditional fuel (gasoline) and from alternative fuels, such as
natural gas, liquid petroleum gas or ethanol. These innovative products place the business
unit among the three biggest suppliers in the world.
In pursuit of continuous improvements to the efficiency of classical drive systems, the
Division is expanding its product portfolio to include turbocharger technology. Especially in
conjunction with direct injection, turbochargers offer an opportunity to "downsize", i.e. to use
smaller, more economical gasoline engines without compromising performance data. With
potential reductions of more than 15 percent in CO2 emissions, gasoline engines are
beginning to rival the latest diesel engines. Series production should begin in 2011.
Transmission
The Transmission business unit develops and produces electronics for controlling the latest
automatic transmissions such as stepped automatic transmissions, continuously variable
transmissions (CVT), automatic gearshift systems, double-clutch transmissions, transfer
boxes and all-wheel drive systems. The product portfolio extends from external control units
to mechatronics, including sensors and electrical or hydraulic actuators, built into the
transmission. Sophisticated electronics, providing rapid, smooth gear changing without
interrupting tractive power, can ensure maximum ride comfort and reduced fuel consumption
and thus lower emissions, especially in double-clutch transmissions. This innovative
transmission technology, at the heart of which lie the Continental control electronics built into
the transmission, was first employed in volume production in 2003.
Sensors & Actuators
Without exception, every future drive train component and system - from new combustion
techniques via exhaust-gas aftertreatment to hybrid drives - will be electronically controlled.
Consequently, particular importance attaches to sensors and actuators, which help to reduce
emissions and lower fuel consumption even further while improving performance, extending
service life and enhancing comfort and safety. One particular innovation introduced by the
Sensors & Actuators business unit is sensors for measuring nitrogen oxide in exhaust gases
so as to monitor and comply with the legal limits for nitrogen oxides. Actuators trigger
electrical signals for opening and closing valves, for example. Electromotor-operated valves
are able to control the air intake or exhaust emissions much more accurately than
mechanically-operated valves and are more easily integrated into the engine management
system. The business unit is the global market leader for components such as electronic
throttle valves and is the number one supplier of pressure and knock sensors.
Fuel Supply
The task for the Fuel Supply business unit is to optimize the fuel supply while keeping
emissions at a low level. As the global market leader in this field, the business unit has
added fuel feed and fuel tank venting systems to its product range for the drive train. Its
products now include fuel level sensors, integrated control electronics, pump and valve
technology and emission reduction systems. All the components can be combined on the
modular principle into fully functional systems, making it possible to develop multi-platform
products quickly and efficiently.
With its latest innovation, an electrically controlled pump control unit which can be integrated
into the fuel feed unit, the Fuel Supply business unit has optimized the cost-benefit ratio for
the end customer by making it possible to fully integrate the system into the feed module.
The core element of this innovation is the MPECC as the modular component for the new
brushless fuel pumps. (Multi Purpose EC Pump Controller  MPECC)
Hybrid Electric Vehicles
Fuel savings of 25 percent and more together with additional torque make hybrid and electric
vehicles an attractive option. They provide the ideal combination of dynamic driving and
reduced fuel consumption.
As the first European supplier of hybrid systems in 2003, Continental has developed a
modular system which includes all the basic electrical components of a hybrid system, i.e.
the inverter, DC/DC converter, electric engine and battery. These modules can be adapted to
meet specific vehicle requirements and can therefore be installed in all vehicle categories
from compact vehicles to SUVs and also in all types of drive systems, e.g. electric, hybrid
and fuel cell drives. The flexibility of this concept can reduce our customers' time to market
and their development costs.
In 2008, the Hybrid Electric Vehicles business unit was the world's first manufacturer to start
series production of lithium-ion batteries for use in hybrid drive cars.
Compared with the battery technology currently in use in hybrid vehicles (nickel-metal
hydride), lithium-ion batteries, the latest generation energy storage units, offer significantly
greater storage capacity.
Continental's technological expertise in hybrid and electric drive systems is also underpinned
by strong collaborative partnerships.
Future technologies
Continental's Powertrain Division is already working on new innovative technologies aimed at
permanently reducing CO2 emissions and is pioneering technological trends which we shall
see in the vehicles on our roads in the coming years. This includes electrifying the drive train
by directly integrating the electrical components used in the drive system, the steering,
the shock absorption system and the brakes into the wheels of tomorrow's vehicles. The
experience gained from intelligent hybrid technology system solutions will form the basis for
these developments. In parallel with our work on hybrid drives which will continue to be
vigorously pursued and which, in the long term, will create the pre-conditions for further
electrification of the drive system, Continental will still be focusing on further developments to
gasoline and diesel engines because there is still much potential for developing the internal
combustion engine which will remain the dominant drive system for the next decade. This is
why the Powertrain Division has also set itself the goal of developing systems and
components which can constantly optimize both gasoline and diesel engines. This will make
it possible to further reduce fuel consumption by gasoline engines and to lower even more
considerably the emissions from diesel engines.
Uncompromising quality and reliability
Product reliability is the Powertrain Division's top priority. To achieve this, state-of-the-art
engine test rigs and roller test benches are installed at seven sites around the world for
testing the electrical, mechanical and functional integration of all electronic components.
Throughout the development phase, teams of experts employ high-performance precision
measuring techniques to ensure that all the engine management system's components injectors, control software, sensors and exhaust-gas aftertreatment systems - interact
smoothly.
Quality is a core competence at Continental and the same applies to the Powertrain
Division. Our customers consider both our products and our services to be market leaders
and regard the Division as the one partner with whom they can achieve perfect quality. The
Division's high quality standards have set the benchmark for the automotive industry. In
order to meet the most stringent quality requirements, we actively involve suppliers in our
processes at a very early stage. Quality is a matter for every employee in the Powertrain
Division. Striving for perfection in products, processes and actions is a personal commitment
to constant improvement - we can only succeed if we travel this road together.
Please direct queries and requests for further information to:
Simone Geldhäuser
External communications
Continental
Division Powertrain
Siemensstr. 12
93055 Regensburg
Tel.: +49 (0)941 7906 1302
Fax: +49 (0)941 790 996 1302
Email: simone.geldhaeuser@continental-corporation.com
www.continental-corporation.com