Continental is helping transport companies and fleet operators to prepare their vehicles for the future by making fleets more sustainable, efficient and digitally connected.
To this end, the technology company has a broad range of solutions and technologies that conserve resources and improve the carbon footprint of vehicles. Its focus is on four strategic areas: climate protection, clean mobility, circular economy and sustainable supply chains.
“Efficiency and sustainability awareness have become vital competitive factors for transport companies too,” says Ralf Benack, Head of 360° Solutions at Continental.
“Low-rolling resistance tyres already form part of the basic specification in many fleets. However, we are looking for more – namely, sustainability throughout a tyre’s life cycle.”
At Continental, sustainability begins at the material sourcing phase and extends through the manufacturing process to the delivery and deployment of long-lasting, energy-efficient tyres. At the end of a tyre’s working life, Continental is able to provide tyre retreading and make use of raw materials obtained from the recycling of old tyres in the production of new rubber.
The framework for this is provided by the Conti360° Solutions overall tyre management package –the selection of the right tyre, permanent monitoring of tyre data and a system to feed worn tyres back into the ContiLifeCycle programme, allowing tyres to enjoy a new life.
Alongside the ContiFitment Service, which helps customers make the right choice of tyre for the application at hand, another key element of Continental’s fleet solutions is digital tyre monitoring with ContiConnect.
Using sensors inside the tyres, ContiConnect enables fleet managers to access real-time tyre data, such as pressure and temperature, for the entire fleet. Tyre damage can be quickly detected, preventing punctures, and the tyres can be constantly kept at the optimum pressure, which can help to lower fuel consumption. Fleets reap the benefits of longer tyre service life and minimised real-life total costs for the vehicles.
Continental is set to make another step towards predictive maintenance with the introduction of ContiConnect 2.0 and its next-generation sensors, which will provide even more tyre data to fleet operators.
“Sustainability and climate protection have been key issues for the transport industry for many years now,” remarks Benack. “We are always looking to help fleets precisely tackle these challenges with our solutions, to support them on the road towards sustainable fleet management. This is also why our unerring focus on sustainability has been enshrined in our ‘Vision 2030’ strategic programme.”
