Continental launches Chinese R&D centre

German auto parts group Continental said Monday it has opened a new Chinese technical centre after announcing that it will close plants in France and Germany.

The new research and development site is located in Jiading, near Shanghai, and was set up to test braking systems and engine management and system controls for Chinese automakers, a statement said.

Around 200 engineers are expected to work at the site starting by 2011.

"It's one more milestone of the growth of Continental in China," the statement quoted the group's Asian director Jay Kunkel as saying.

Continental expects to make one quarter of all sales in Asia by 2013, he added.

The German company is already present in China and is building a new tyre plant near the eastern city of Hefei. It has also announced it will close two sites in France and Germany that employ 1,900 people.