Continental goes green with tires made of plastic bottles, rice husk ashes

FRANKFURT — Continental wants to get creative as it sources materials for the tires it sells moving forward.

The German parts supplier and tire maker last month revealed its UltraContact NXT tire, made of up to 65 percent sustainable materials, the most of any of its tire models in production. Those materials include recycled and renewable sources such as plastic bottles and silicate made from the ashes of rice husks, according to the manufacturer.

The tire, which Continental said is the first with a high level of sustainable materials released by any company for series production, comes nearly two years after the company showed off a green concept tire that featured many of the same renewable sources as the UltraContact NXT. It's a signal that the company is serious about bringing sustainable products to the market, Continental CEO Nikolai Setzer said.

"This tire shows we have concepts, and we bring them into production with the best ratings on the technology side as well," Setzer said during a news conference here in Frankfurt.

The tire's debut comes as Continental and other suppliers come under intense pressure from automakers and governments to reduce carbon emissions of their products and production. Many automakers have set aggressive targets to reduce their carbon footprints that hinge in large part on whether they can get their suppliers to cut back on emissions and use more sustainable materials.

"For OEMs to reach their sustainability targets, they need more sustainable tires," Setzer said.

By 2030, Continental plans on having its tires made up of more than 40 percent recycled and renewable materials, up from between 15 and 20 percent today, Setzer said. By 2050, the company expects its tires to be made entirely of green materials.

The transition to greener tires parallels moves Continental has made in other parts of its global businesses to make products more sustainable.

For example, the company has developed a line of surface materials for door and instrument panels called Xpreshn that can be produced using renewable materials. It also has created a synthetic leather made with recycled materials, with yarns used to produce it made from recycled plastic bottles.

The UltraContact NXT tire will first be sold at European dealerships this month. Beyond that, Setzer said the company is open to supplying automakers with the tire for use on new vehicles.

"We have not targeted this yet because we wanted to be fast to introduce it," he said. "But for sure, it could be an OE tire at some point. There's nothing against that."

Unknown yet is whether sustainability will become a major priority for consumers when considering tire purchases, he said.

"Whether the consumer distinguishes between sustainability, between safety, between all the other subjects, that remain to be seen," Setzer said. "This is up to the consumer."

Regardless, the company remains all-in on going green.

Continental ranks No. 9 on the Automotive News list of the top global suppliers, with worldwide sales to automakers of $25.4 billion in 2022.