03/29/2011

• Prices for motorcycle tyres must be increased 5 per cent
• Raw material prices up substantially

Hanover, March 31, 2011. Continental must increase prices for motorcycle tyres by 5 per cent effective 1 May 2011. “In some cases, costs for our raw materials, especially rubber and oil products, have more than doubled since last year,” explains Andreas Faulstich, head of Motorcycle Tyres marketing and sales at Continental. “So for us there is no getting around a price increase.”

According to Faulstich, the 5 per cent price adjustment, which has been kept as moderate as possible, still does not fully cover the increase in costs. To deal with any further cost increases, Continental is looking into possibilities to convert from fossil materials to renewable or alternative raw materials. But since the tests are very extensive and time-consuming, Faulstich does not see any significant improvement in the cost situation in the short term.