Chinese B2C e-commerce provider JD.com and German tire brand Continental announced a strategic deal to sell tires to e-commerce consumers.

With the cooperation, Continental will directly supply to JD, instead of via a multi-level resale model. At the same time, the two parties will establish an exclusive supply channel which will provide more exclusive products and new products to JD consumers.

Financial details of the deal were not released.

Continental was founded in 1871 and the company officially entered the Chinese market with tires for passenger cars and light trucks in 2006. In 2016, the company further expanded its manufacturing base in China and its production capacity of passenger car tires is expected to increase to 14 million in 2019. By the end of 2016, Continental had over 50,000 employees around the world and its sales reached EUR10.7 billion.

Dalibor Kalina, general manager of Continental mainland China, said that the importance of e-commerce in the automobile market is more and more obvious. By cooperating with JD, they will be able to improve shopping experiences for Chinese consumers in various ways, including shortening product delivery periods, enlarging sales network coverage in China, and improving consumers' confidence in the authenticity of products.

Tang Yishen, general manager of automotive supplies department of home and lifestyle business unit of JD, said that the tire category and the entire automotive supplies sector are facing a retail model upgrade combining Internet and service. As a leading e-commerce company in China, JD is committed to realizing more possibilities for the industry and users.