Continental’s Powertrain division was carved-out as part of the corporation’s realignment process and now operates under the name of Vitesco Technologies, with its own corporate design and its own online presence. The reason for the carve-out of the Powertrain division is because the market environment has changed very quickly and very differently from region to region due to the more stringent exhaust emission regulations globally. Organisational independence gives Vitesco Technologies the required entrepreneurial scope to respond promptly and individually to the wide range of requirements. This is expressed in the name: “Vitesco,” derived from vita (Latin for life), stands for energy, speed, and agility, and “Technologies” underpins the innovative aspiration to offer pioneering technologies, systems, and services.
Just like Continental Powertrain, Vitesco Technologies has a wide range of innovative products in the two-wheeler and powersports field—from engine control units to a variety of sensors and actuators and fuel and exhaust gas management systems. These provide the customized solutions for the special requirements of each respective market and meet the latest emission standards such as Euro 5 (from January 2020), China 4 including On Board Diagnostics (OBD, since July 2019) and Bharat 6 including OBD (from April 2020 in India). In addition, Vitesco Technologies is working intensively on electric drives for two-wheelers and is thereby benefitting from extensive know-how in the passenger vehicle sector, where Continental has been a pioneer of drive electrification for many years. This focus is primarily on the Asian markets. “As a first step, we are concentrating on solutions for vehicles which were previously driven by combustion engines with an engine displacement of up to 150 cc,” states Torsten Bellon, head of Non-Automotive Product Line at Vitesco Technologies. “For this vehicle class, we will offer a 48-volt electric machine with corresponding electronics. We are in the process of completing the conceptualization and will shortly be starting the series development.”