Continental doubles down on Australian 4WD tyres as boss urges mandatory tyre recycling laws

A/T 2 marks Continental's first dedicated all-terrain play

Continental has officially entered Australia's all-terrain tyre segment with the CrossContact A/T 2, which GoAuto reported in June 2026 is the company's first dedicated all-terrain offering for local 4WD, SUV and utility buyers. Developed around Continental's new TractionPlus+ technology, the tyre is pitched at drivers who split their time between metropolitan roads and regional terrain rather than the extreme off-road market, positioning it against the BF Goodrich All-Terrain KO3, Falken Wildpeak series and Toyo Open Country range. ⁴

Continental claims the A/T 2 delivers 13 per cent greater traction than its conventional all-terrain products, extends tyre life by up to 10 per cent through improved resistance to cuts, chips and stone damage, and uses sidewalls 33 per cent thicker than its previous all-terrain offerings. Key features include a high void ratio tread, self-cleaning open shoulders, stone ejection technology and reinforced light-truck construction across the range, GoAuto reported. A new BlackPaw Compound is engineered to maintain grip across tropical, alpine and desert conditions. Sizes run from 215 to 295mm section widths and 15- to 22-inch wheel diameters. These are manufacturer claims rather than independently verified results. ⁴

In an Expert Insights interview published by CarExpert, Continental Tyres Australia managing director Mitchell Golledge said the A/T 2's development priorities were wet braking and low noise. "The requirement in our A priorities for that tyre is that we wanted to have a tyre that performed in braking, in wet braking especially, and we wanted to have a tyre that was – in terms of comfort – a quiet tyre," he told CarExpert, adding that Continental deliberately avoided mud-terrain products because the local volume is too small; the company has sold General Tire mud-terrains in Australia previously without commercial success. ¹

Pricing for the A/T 2 was not stated in the coverage available, so no list price can be reported for the Australian market. ⁴¹

Australia as lead market in a global manufacturing network

Golledge told CarExpert that Australia is the lead market for development of the A/T 2 pack, pointing to local registration data: nine of the top 10 selling vehicles in Australia in 2025 were SUVs, utes or four-wheel drives. Continental works on an "in the market, for the market" principle, with Japan leading development of small-rim passenger tyres and India leading 12-inch applications, while Australia shapes the A/T 2's pattern design, braking capacity and noise levels. He noted other Asia-Pacific markets will later receive the same tyre with white sidewall lettering favoured in Thailand. ¹

On sourcing, Golledge said most A/T 2 production for Australia comes out of Thailand, with the tyre also produced at the Hefei plant in China and in Italy, allowing Continental to shift supply between facilities based on capacity. He stressed that tyres from any of the company's 19 plants are equivalent, and that roughly 98 or 99 per cent of development is completed in R&D environments at facilities including the Contidrom in Europe, sites in Malaysia and Shanghai, and a US proving ground. ¹

Electric vehicles reshape tyre requirements

Golledge told CarExpert that electric vehicles' greater torque changes wear characteristics, and that the requirements for pure battery-electric vehicles differ from hybrids, particularly around charging infrastructure and rolling resistance. Continental sells EV-ready tyres in Australia and has recently launched the XC7, which combines silent and seal technology to address a gap most EVs and hybrids leave: no spare tyre. He said the XC7 "gives them a bit of mobility; it doesn't address battery concerns". ¹

Explaining tyre development trade-offs, Golledge described a priority system in which attributes conflict: longevity can come at the cost of rolling resistance or braking performance, so each tyre line sets minimum A priorities and sacrifices lower-ranked ones. Asked whether the industry prioritises EV range over grip and wear, he told CarExpert that braking, handling and rolling resistance all matter and that the outcome depends on each tyre's priority setting. ¹

These EV-related design challenges are industry-wide engineering questions rather than evidence of any product defect or safety failure; Golledge framed them as hurdles being overcome through research and development, while identifying road conditions, not tyres, as the bigger safety issue for Australian drivers. ¹³

Recycling: voluntary scheme under strain as free riders stay outside

Golledge has called on the federal government to make tyre recycling mandatory, telling CarExpert that Australia's tyre stewardship scheme is voluntary with only 16 members contributing $1 for every tyre sold or imported, while many importers are "free riders" who contribute nothing. He warned recycling "is going to become a bigger issue for the Australian marketplace for tyres" absent a mandated system. Alongside Continental, members include Bridgestone, Goodyear, Hankook, Kumho, Michelin, Pirelli, Sailun, Toyo Tires and Yokohama, with Porsche the only carmaker involved, CarExpert reported. ²

The Tyre Stewardship Association reports that 87 per cent of used passenger, bus and truck tyres are recovered in Australia, with 66 per cent of all used tyres going to an environmentally sound use, CarExpert noted; the remainder go to landfill or are dumped, including in national parks. The TSA offers $250 per tonne of crumb rubber to local councils, up to $25,000 per project. ²

On Continental's own sustainability targets, Golledge said recycled or reclaimed material made up 26 per cent of each tyre globally in 2024, rising to 28.1 per cent by the end of 2025, with a company goal of 40 per cent. These are manufacturer figures. He also cited recycling inputs including polyester yarn from PET bottles and silica extracted from rice husks, and pointed to historical Continental innovations from the first groove tyre in 1904 to run-flats in 2002 and modern seal and silent technologies. ¹

Road conditions and the suburban 4WD reality

Asked about the biggest tyre-related road safety issue, Golledge told CarExpert it is road conditions rather than tyres, singling out Victoria's road state, and urged motorists to check tyre pressures weekly. CarExpert's report came after a 71-year-old motorcyclist was killed on a regional Victorian highway last month after striking a pothole, highlighting the stakes of deteriorating road surfaces. ³

Continental's own research, reported by Yahoo News, found grocery runs (57 per cent) and commuting (52 per cent) are the most common uses for Australian utes and 4WDs, while only 19.5 per cent of owners use them for camping and 20 per cent off-road. Golledge told Yahoo News Australians buy these vehicles for the "freedom and capability" they represent, with most driving on sealed roads. That usage profile aligns with the A/T 2's brief: a tyre bridging on-road quietness and braking with genuine off-road capability, rather than an extreme off-road product. ⁵¹

The same Yahoo News report noted academic criticism of oversized American-style pickups in suburbs not designed for them, with Ford Ranger topping Australian new-vehicle sales for three consecutive years from 2023 to 2025. That market backdrop — dominated by SUVs and utes — is what Continental cites as the reason Australia leads development of its all-terrain tyre line. ⁵¹