This post is also available in: German

  • Negotiation and approval procedures successfully completed
  • New company to trade under the name OSRAM Continental GmbH and to commence worldwide business activities from July 2, 2018
  • Seamless integration of light, sensors and electronics to stimulate growth of intelligent lighting solutions in the automotive sector

Munich/Regensburg, July 3, 2018. As of now, the OSRAM Continental GmbH joint venture, set up by the two technology companies Continental and Osram, is up and running. Following the successful completion of all negotiations and the issuance of merger control approvals, the joint venture has been launched as planned in the second half of 2018.

OSRAM Continental will initially employ around 1,500 people at 16 locations worldwide, basing its headquarters in Munich (Germany). The plan is to move the headquarters to Garching (Germany) in due course. The joint venture aims to generate annual sales in the mid-triple-digit-million-euro range. Continental and Osram each hold a 50 percent stake in the joint venture, which is fully consolidated in the case of Osram.

OSRAM Continental is planning growth rates of up to double digits annually for the next five years. This is based on strong growth in the market for LED as well as laser-based lighting modules and solutions and associated electronics. The first products to be developed by the joint venture are expected to be ready for series production by 2021.

Dirk Linzmeier, CEO of OSRAM Continental, already has high expectations for the start of the joint venture: “Over the past few months, we have laid down a number of markers, which will allow us to create a new company that will rethink the future of automotive lighting. Building on these strong roots, OSRAM Continental will enable us to provide a significant boost to the market.”

“By launching our joint venture, we are generating confidence that the market for intelligent automotive lighting will continue to grow and be viable. Furthermore, with our team comprising of management staff and experts from both companies, we will increase the speed of innovation as well as efficiency and integration. I am really looking forward to working with our new colleagues on developing exciting products,” stated Harald Renner, CFO and member of the general management of OSRAM Continental GmbH.

The market for vehicle lighting in the automotive industry is currently in a period of transition as it moves towards semiconductor-based lighting technologies. As a result, software and electronics are becoming increasingly important and influential. Continental and Osram are therefore combining their strengths in each of these areas and developing state-of-the-art headlamp modules and solutions for tail and interior lighting for automotive manufacturers and suppliers.

Joint venture takes intelligent automotive lighting to a new level

The joint venture will utilize increasing digitalization on an ongoing basis in its vehicle lighting solutions in order to produce intelligent lighting functions for vehicles completely from one source. With its optimized approach to combining lighting and intelligent electronics, OSRAM Continental is also striving to ensure the market penetration of LED technology in all vehicle segments.

As such, the company is not only using software-based solutions to create a configurable light distribution system – for anti-glare dipped headlamps and high beam headlamps, for example – but it is also developing intelligent lighting functions. Using data from the navigation system and sensors, vehicles equipped with these solutions in future will, for example, be able to project warning messages for other road users while driving.

Further information about the joint venture can be found here: www.osram-continental.com.

 

Continental develops pioneering technologies and services for sustainable and connected mobility of people and their goods. Founded in 1871, the technology company offers safe, efficient, intelligent and affordable solutions for vehicles, machines, traffic and transport. In 2017, Continental generated sales of €44 billion and currently employs more than 240,000 people in 61 countries.

OSRAM, headquartered in Munich, is a leading global high-tech company that has been in the industry for over 110 years. The majority of its products are semiconductor-based and are used in a wide range of applications from virtual reality to autonomous driving and smartphones, all the way through to connected, intelligent lighting solutions for buildings and cities. OSRAM utilizes the endless possibilities offered by light to improve the lives of people and societies. In the future, OSRAM’s innovations will not only allow us to see better, but also to communicate, travel, work and live better. At the end of the 2017 fiscal year (as at September 30), OSRAM employed around 26,400 people worldwide and generated sales of over €4.1 billion in this fiscal year. The company is listed on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt am Main and Munich under WKN: LED 400 (ticker symbol: OSR). For more information, www.osram.de.

OSRAM Continental GmbH is a joint venture between the technology companies OSRAM and Continental. The globally operating company with headquarters in the Munich region combines modern lighting technologies with electronics and software and offers a broad portfolio of intelligent, innovative lighting solutions for the automotive industry. OSRAM and Continental each hold a 50 percent stake in the joint venture, which has around 1,500 employees at 16 locations worldwide.

Press contact

Susanne Einzinger
Continental
Vice President Communications
Interior Division
Siemensstrasse 12
93055 Regensburg, Germany
Phone: +49 941 790 5669
susanne.einzinger@continental-corporation.com

Nadine Schian
Head of Communication Specialty Lighting
Osram GmbH
Marcel-Breuer-Str. 6, 80806 Munich, Germany
Phone: +49 89 6213-3769
Cell: +49 151 121 77 994
E-mail: n.schian@osram.com

Alena Liebram
Continental
External Communications
Interior Division
Sodener Strasse 9
65824 Schwalbach am Taunus, Germany
Phone: +49 6196 87 2521
alena.liebram@continental-corporation.com

This press release is available in the following languages: English, German

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