Research & Development

Our Tires Are High-Tech Products.

German engineering skill and precision are not only legendary but also deeply rooted in our DNA. Today we draw upon engineering expertise from all over the world. Our culture is based on trust and the understanding that successes have to be earned through hard work. We strive to deliver maximum performance – this has been a constant for over 150 years.

At our development center in Hanover alone, 1,000 researchers, designers, and engineers work on innovations, developments, and tests with a clear goal in mind: making mobility safer, more efficient, and smarter.

The results are solutions for virtually all forms of mobility. From high-performance tires for cars, tires for trucks or buses, and digital solutions for fleet management, through to special solutions for special vehicles of all types as well as for bicycles or motorcycles – we have a suitable solution for virtually every application, every purpose and every market the world over.

Following extensive material testing in the laboratory and countless simulations, out on the test track is where the moment of truth arrives. Before they enter volume production, new tire models cover a total of 25 million kilometers every year on roller drum test rigs and test tracks – that’s 625 times around the Earth! But this enormous amount of time and effort is more than justified because it is the foundation on which the premium quality of Continental tires is based – quality valued by carmakers and customers all over the world for 150 years.

Every test series for a new product is conducted with different tread patterns to establish the strengths and weaknesses of the individual samples. In order to satisfy the wide-ranging test criteria, the test infrastructure has to facilitate a variety of precise methods. Professional test drivers are key to ensuring test quality. Only their subjective, human perception enables the objective test results to be supplemented and interpreted.