Continental and SK Innovation Join Forces to Develop and Supply First Class Battery Technology

 Continental and SK Innovation Join Forces to Develop and Supply First Class
                              Battery Technology

- Technology leaders found jointly managed company

- Access to the extensive expertise of both companies provides the necessary
basis for a strong market position in a key technology for future mobility

PR Newswire

FRANKFURT, Germany, BERLIN and SEOUL, South Korea, July 23, 2012

FRANKFURT, Germany, BERLIN and SEOUL, South Korea, July 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/
-- SK Innovation, Seoul (South Korea), and the international automotive
supplier Continental, Hanover (Germany), will develop and supply first class
battery technology for the automotive industry as partners in the future.
Monday in Frankfurt/Main, the two technology leaders signed an agreement
founding a jointly managed company. The know-how of the two firms will be
concentrated in this new company with the goal of mutually developing,
producing and globally marketing lithium-ion battery systems for cars. The
operational phase has thus been initiated just six months after the letter of
intent.

"The cooperation of the two companies' capabilities and technologies is a
remarkable starting point to open a new horizon for future transport. The
combination of SK's battery cell know how and Continental´s battery system
know how will yield the best solution for the operation of electric car
batteries and therefore suggests the most evolved model to the global
automobile market," noted Chey Jae-won, executive vice chairman of SK Group.

"We will make up a strong team that will work together highly effectively in
developing and manufacturing one of the technologies that is key for future
mobility. In this way, we can support our global automotive customers in
introducing electric drive systems with state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery
technology," adds Dr. Elmar Degenhart, Chairman of the Executive Board of
Continental. 

Continental and SK Innovation anticipate that, as CO[2] regulations become
more stringent worldwide, electrically assisted drives and pure electric
vehicles will become increasingly important in the market. And the battery is
one of the key components of these technologies. The new joint company will
draw on the expertise of the two technology leaders behind it:

SK Innovation is providing its well-founded know-how in the development of
battery cells, which are technologically at the cutting edge in this field
with respect to energy or power density, depending on the design. In addition,
SK Innovation is one of the leading suppliers of separators.

In turn, the international automotive supplier Continental has many years of
experience in developing and producing battery electronics and entire battery
systems as well as integrating them into the vehicle. Continental supplied the
first mass-produced lithium-ion batteries already in 2007. "The new venture is
thus in an ideal position to establish itself as a pioneer in cutting edge
technology for battery solutions for the international automotive industry.
Potential customers responded very positively to the announcement of our
plans," says Jose Avila, Member of the Executive Board of Continental and Head
of Powertrain Division

Both of the founding companies will continue to pursue their own business
strategy.

SK Innovation will hold a 51% stake in the new company, Continental 49%. The
business strategies of SK Innovation and of Continental will remain unaffected
by the joint management of this new company. Both companies will continue to
supply their customers in the automotive industry with their entire existing
product range.

The venture, which will be managed operationally from Berlin, is slated to
start business in the fourth quarter of this year. Its research and
development activities will be carried out in Daejon, South Korea, in addition
to Berlin. Production, marketing and sales will be set up locally in the
target markets worldwide. Initially, there will be about 200 employees
worldwide, with both partner companies providing equal portions of the
workforce.

With sales of €30.5 billion in 2011, Continental is among the leading
automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systems and
components for powertrains and chassis, instrumentation, infotainment
solutions, vehicle electronics, tires and technical elastomers, Continental
contributes to enhanced driving safety and global climate protection.
Continental is also an expert partner in networked automobile communication.
Continental currently has approximately 167,000 employees in 46 countries.

Continental has been investing in the development and optimization of
climate-friendly systems and components for alternative drives for over ten
years. In 100 series projects for 20 manufacturers worldwide, around 1,600
specialists are currently working on further developing existing concepts as
well as new innovations for hybrid and electric vehicles. To ensure safe,
efficient, networked and comfortable mobility, Continental is bringing
together the corporation's expertise in integration, energy optimization,
drive management, vehicle safety, information management and tires. Hybrid and
electric vehicle components from all business units can be adapted to specific
vehicle requirements worldwide, allowing them to be used in almost all vehicle
classes and drive types.

SK Innovation, founded in 1962 as Korea's first oil refinery and with sales of
US$59.3 billion in 2011, is one of the world's leading energy and
petrochemical companies. SK Innovation, which focuses on research and
development, deals primarily with lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles,
materials for information electronics materials (I/E) for IT devices and the
field of exploration and production (E&P), while its subsidiaries SK Energy
(South Korea's largest refinery company), SK Global Chemical (global top-tier
chemical company) and SK Lubricants (global market leader for technically
sophisticated and high-grade lubricants) successfully pursue their own
business visions and strategies. SKI's lithium-ion battery business unit was
created in 1996 and currently supplies leading international carmakers
including Daimler and Hyundai.

SOURCE Continental

Contact: Hannes Boekhoff, Vice President for Media Relations, Continental,
Corporate Communications, +49 511 938-1278, or Fax: +49 511 938-1016,
corporate-media-relations@conti.de, or Simone Geldhaeuser, External
Communications, Continental, Powertrain division, +49 941 790-61302, Fax: +49
941 790-99 61302, simone.geldhaeuser@continental-corporation.com