Morganton's Continental-Automotive division to become independent entity

Morganton is home to one of the largest manufacturers of sophisticated, computerized automotive braking and suspension systems in North America — Continental-Automotive, a division of Germany-based Continental AG.

Next week passers-by will see a new name and brand as Continental-AG spins off the business unit into a new, independent entity.

The operation, which serves about 25% of the automobile market, consists of two high-tech plants on Jamestown Road, one adjacent to the east-bound lane on Interstate 40, and the other closer to Jamestown Flea & Farmers Market.

With a combined footprint of 361,712 square feet across 45 acres, and employing about 400 workers, the two Morganton plants represent Continental’s sole North American operations that build the high-tech, braking safety systems, said David Jones, general manager of the Morganton facilities.

The parent company, Continental AG, is a multi-billion dollar global conglomerate. Its other two divisions are tires and technology.

Continental AG is spinning off its three divisions into independent legal business entities, with unique names, individual boards of directors, and stock listings.

The realignment takes place April 25. Residents will see a new name and other branding on the Jamestown Road facilities. The name and branding information have not been released by Continental AG, which will become a global company focused exclusively on tires for cars and trucks as well as two-wheel and specialty tires.

On Tuesday, April 8, Continental AG CEO Nikolai Setzer in Hanover, Germany, said, “Over the past 30 years in particular, Continental has used targeted acquisitions and organic growth to build up three strong group sectors in their respective industries. These are now ready for independence. Today’s highly dynamic markets also call for focused, agile and decisive action. Now is therefore the right time to initiate the most far-reaching realignment in the company’s history. We are creating three strong, independent champions that will achieve their full growth and value creation potential as independent companies.”

Other than the name change, Jones said it will be business as usual in Morganton.

“It will be a new company,” Jones said. “It will have nothing to do with Continental.” He did not disclose the new name or other branding details except to say that the new colors will be orange and purple.

“We’ll take the Continental flag down, and put up the new flag,” he said. “There’s a lot of positives” for the workforce.

Jones’ operations are supply-chain dependent, with components coming into Morganton from all over the world and assembled into brake and suspension systems shipping to Volkswagen, BMW, and the Big Three automobile plants globally.

His is a just-in-time, clean-room environment with unforgiving timelines and razor-tight margins. Sudden changes — such as tariff wars — impact his processes and have financial consequences that reach to car dealerships.

The yet-unnamed automotive group offers cutting-edge electronic products and modern mobility solutions. It has carved out a strong market position for innovative sensor solutions and displays as well as technologically leading brake and comfort systems, and has extensive expertise in software, architecture platforms, and assistance systems for the rapidly growing future market of software-defined and autonomous vehicles, according to corporate profiles.

The group sector employs around 92,000 people globally and generated sales in fiscal 2024 of around $21.6 billion in sales, according to company profiles.

The listing of Automotive on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is scheduled for September 2025, subject to the approval of the annual shareholders’ meeting on April 25.