Continental in $1.3b drive to expand in China

German automotive supplier Continental AG plans to invest at least 1 billion euros ($1.34 billion) in China over the next five years to fuel its growth in the world's largest vehicle market.

"We have made investments of about 1 billion euros in the local market during the past five years, and we will maintain the investment scale at least at the same level in the coming five years,"said Elmar Degenhart, chief executive officer of the Hanover-based company.

The money will go into new factories and the expansion of existing ones, further localization and the recruitment and training of new employees. It will also be used to step up research and development.