“Continental Caoutchouc und Gutta-Percha Compagnie” was founded in Hanover on 8th Oct­ober 1871 as a joint stock company. Buffers for horseshoes and solid tires for car­riages were among the first products produced since the 1870s. Consequently, in 1882, the ram­pant horse was adopted as trademark of the company.

 In 1892 Continental was the first German company to manufacture pneumatic tires for bicycles. It was the beginning of the success story of the Continental tires’ brand.

The first giant pneumatic tires were made by Continental in the year 1921 replacing the solid tires used on commercial vehicles until that time. Three years later Continental advanced the cord tire and marketed “Conti-Cord” – a low pres­sure balloon tire. This technique enhances the driving comfort and the life of the tire.

By the end of the decade Continental was the leading company in commercial tires with 91 percent market share in Germany. So it’s not surprising that in the 1930s the Brand claim: „Tyres for every class of vehicle running on wheels“ was developed. In 1943 Continental filed the patent for tubeless tires and was the first company worldwide to do so.

Based on innovations in passenger car tires, in 1955 the first M+S tires for trucks were in­­­­t­roduced and build the foundation of Continental Truck Tires’ position as the market lea­­­­der in winter tires. As long as 1978 Continental provides also services all around tires for its business clients. In the 1970s and 1980s, Continental AG went inter­national. The acquisition of Uniroyal® in 1979 was the first step into this direction. Semperit Reifen GmbH (1985), General Tire® (1987) and Matador (2007) also became part of the Continental corporation. On August 2 2009, all tire activities in Germany, along with the employees involved and the respective business relationships, were transferred to a fully owned subsidiary of the corporation, Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH.

As one of the largest manufacturers of premium tires for commercial vehicles, Continental carries a broad range of high-performance products finely tailored to specific application areas for heavy-duty and light trucks, buses and off-road vehicles. Continental produces truck and bus tires under the Continental, Uniroyal, Semperit and Barum brand names. With sales exceeding 24 billion in 2008, the Continental Corporation is one of the top automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, powertrain and chassis systems and components, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle elec­tronics, tires, and technical elastomers, the corporation contributes to enhanced driving safety and global climate protection. Continental is also a competent partner in networked automobile communication. The corporation currently employs 130,000 people at 190 locations in 35 countries.