Continental’s powertrain business has become the first part of the group to complete its realignment, with the management team fully in place since April 1, 2019. It now operates as an independent business that will trade under the name of “Vitesco Technologies”. The introduction of this new name is planned for the second half of 2019. The transformation of the division into a largely independent group of legal entities took place as planned at the start of 2019. Headed by Andreas Wolf, the new company’s management team is preparing for the planned partial IPO. The conditions necessary for informing the capital market of further details are likely to be in place by the end of the second half of 2019. The company will be ready to complete the partial IPO once further required technical and regulatory measures have been implemented, which means it can be expected from 2020 onward depending on the market situation.”
“We completed the transformation of Powertrain into an independent group of legal entities in record time. We could not have done this without the support of our people. The fact that over 99 percent of our employees moved to the new company demonstrates their confidence in the path that we have chosen to follow,” said Andreas Wolf. “The decision to become an independent business and the preparations for the partial IPO clearly show that we are both willing and able to change. These qualities will provide us with a competitive advantage.” The move to transform the Powertrain division into an independent company was prompted by the rapid changes that are expected to occur in the powertrain market over the next few years – the way the market evolves will largely be determined by government targets for emission limits.
According to Wolf, “The pace of regulation varies from one region to another. This calls for a great deal of flexibility on the part of the industry. As an independent company, we have more freedom as a business to react quickly and individually to the many different requirements.”
This flexibility is also alluded to in the new name. “Vitesco” comes from vita, the Latin for “life”, building on the image of energy, speed and agility. The second part of the name – “Technologies” – highlights the company’s ambition to be a supplier of innovative, groundbreaking technologies, systems and services.
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SOURCE: Continental
