OSRAM Continental Joint Venture Commences Operations

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

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.

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