Continental AG Named Official Tire Sponsor of 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa(TM)

"This sponsorship agreement continues a strategy we have been following since 1995 for our premium Continental brand, and continues our focus on soccer as a platform for increasing brand awareness in our core markets," explained Dr. Alan Hippe, president of CTNA's Passenger and Light Truck Tire division. "This sponsorship will elevate Continental into the top three premium replacement tire brands inEastern Europe,Russia,Asia andSouth America, and it will get us there more rapidly than would be possible with traditional advertising."

Hippe added that the 2006 FIFA World Cup attracted a total of more than 26 billion live TV viewers and also reached record levels on its official website with more than four billion page views.

South Africa is a natural target for sponsorship, Hippe said, noting that Continental holds the leading market position in that country's replacement sector with a market share of more than 20 percent of tires that are produced locally. The company operates a passenger and light truck tire manufacturing facility in Port Elizabeth,South Africa, which employs 1,600. That plant produced and sold some 2.6 million OEM and replacement tires in 2007. Continental also runs a factory for MPV tires, also in Port Elizabeth, which meets demand south of the Sahara, as well as in other countries hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup(TM).

As part of the agreement, Continental also has an option to extend its sponsorship until the 2014 FIFA World Cup(TM) inBrazil.

For media information, visit www.ctnamedia.com.

More information also is available at www.ContiSoccerWorld.com,

www.conti-online.com and www.ContiFanWorld.com. Information about the 2010

FIFA World Cup can be found on the official website www.FIFA.com.

With targeted annual sales of more than $40 billion for 2008, the Continental Corporation is one of the top automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systems and components for the powertrain and chassis, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires and technical elastomers, the corporation contributes towards enhanced driving safety and protection of the global climate. Continental is also a competent partner in networked automobile communication. Today, the corporation employs approximately 150,000 people at nearly 200 locations in 36 countries.

SOURCE Continental Tire North America, Inc.

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Copyright © 2008, NewsBlaze, Daily News

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