In this episode of DriveTime, Stefan Feder discusses Continental Automotive’s new independent company, now called AUMOVIO. He leads the Automotive Aftermarket, North America, for Continental. Feder explains what the AUMOVIO Continental Spinoff means for the company’s brands and the customers it serves. He believes the automotive industry is undergoing a huge transformation.
“There are a lot of big mega trends which are tackled in this automotive sector, and therefore the company feels that we are much better off independently as a very focused sector on our own because Continental as a whole is covering many different industries,” explained Feder. “Being independent makes us faster and more agile to react to these changes.”
AUMOVIO‘s Upcoming Launch and Strategic Focus
The company’s global headquarters are located in Frankfurt. In September, the Continental Automotive group sector will be listed on the German stock exchange under its new name, AUMOVIO, Feder said.
“We need to be constantly aware of what’s happening in the market and be able to react in order to fulfill the demands of our customers,” Feder added. “But at the same time, what I think is equally important is to also be a reliable and stable partner to our customers. So, within this big change of becoming an independent company on the aftermarket side, we will remain basically as we are today. So, we continue with our same products, with the same performance that we are delivering today.”
Motivation and Outlook for the AUMOVIO Continental Spinoff Team
Feder sees independence as another key motivator for the AUMOVIO team. He believes the team feels inspired to succeed on their own.
The AUMOVIO Continental Spinoff encourages a culture of ownership, performance and customer commitment.
“So it’s really creating this motivation of we want to prove ourself. We become independent from the big Continental company and we now want to prove ourself and stand on our own and we want to make that [happen] right from the start. There’s a very high motivation that I’m seeing within our sector and [that we] really want to prove ourselves and make it right from the start for the customers,” Feder said.
To hear more of Stefan’s market insights and outlook, be sure to watch the video above.
Episode Overview:
- How Feder got his start at Continental (0:53).
- Details about AUMOVIO, Continental’s Automotive Division spin-off (2:55).
- How the company is shaping tomorrow’s technology — including ADAS, autonomous driving and software-defined vehicles (7:24).
- Continental’s core values and the important role they have played in the company’s success (9:19).
- Feder’s outlook for AUMOVIO and the aftermarket this year (12:49).
- Lightning Round (14:45).
