ZF invests €800 million in Saarbrücken plant
- Company invests €3 billion in the further improvement and electrification of ZF transmission technology
- ZF CEO Scheider: “Hybrid drives are far more than just a bridge technology”
- Megatrend electrification changes employment
Saarbrücken, Germany. Over the next four years, a total of €800 million will be invested in Saarbrücken, the lead location of ZF’s transmission technology. With this investment, the location will be made fit for the transition from conventional to electric car drives. “The share of hybrid drives in production will increase tenfold over the next few years – from five to 50 percent,” said Wolf-Henning Scheider, CEO of ZF Friedrichshafen AG. ZF is investing more than €3 billion worldwide in new products and its production network for transmission technology.
For the Saarbrücken plant, the ongoing electrification of the powertrain is both an opportunity and a challenge. “We see the increasing market penetration of advanced hybrid drives as an opportunity, which in our view is much more than just a bridge technology,” said Scheider in Saarbrücken, Germany. “With longer ranges between 80 and 100 kilometers, they can complete the majority of all journeys electrically and thus help e-mobility to achieve a breakthrough more quickly.”
ZF’s order books show that the hybrid technology is in great demand. ZF is responding to this boom in demand with an investment program worth more than €3 billion for the further development and sustainability of these products. In Saarbrücken, the company’s lead location for transmission technology, ZF will invest around €800 million over the next four years in production plants and systems, infrastructure, and its supplier network.
If the development towards pure electromobility progresses as currently forecast in several studies, sales and thus also the workforce at the Saarbrücken plant will, however, decline in the long term. In view of this development, ZF has launched a number of activities in Saarbrücken that are intended to significantly increase the plant’s international competitiveness. These include, for example, a whole series of IoT projects. At the same time, these initiatives use artificial intelligence (AI) to provide quick and valuable decision-making aids for employees and thus increase efficiency. “The fact that these effects will only occur in a few years’ time gives us the opportunity to prepare for them today,” says Stephan von Schuckmann, head of ZF’s Car Powertrain Technology Division. “We want to prepare our employees for the mobility of the future with a wide range of training and qualification opportunities and more agile work structures.”
Caption:
Wolf-Henning Scheider, CEO of ZF Friedrichshafen AG.
Stephan von Schuckmann, Head of ZF’s Car Powertrain Technology Division.
8-speed hybrid transmissions for passenger cars are produced at ZF’s Saarbrücken, Germany location.
Images: ZF
Press Contacts:
Kay Robinson Communications UK
phone: +44 121 506-5316 e-mail: kay.robinson1-contr@zf.com
Karin Markenstein, head of Communications Car Powertrain Technology Division,
Phone: +49 681 920-2563, e-mail: karin.markenstein@zf.com
Andreas Veil, head of Business and Finance Communications,
Phone: +49 7541 77-7925, e-mail: andreas.veil@zf.com
ZF Friedrichshafen AG
ZF is a global leader in driveline and chassis technology as well as active and passive safety technology. The company has a global workforce of 146,000 with approximately 230 locations in some 40 countries. In 2017, ZF achieved sales of €36.4 billion. ZF is one of the largest automotive suppliers worldwide.
ZF allows vehicles to see, think and act. The company invests more than six percent of its sales in research and development annually – in particular for the development of efficient and electric drivelines and also in striving for a world without accidents. With its broad portfolio, ZF is advancing mobility and services in the automobile, truck and industrial technology sectors.
For further press information and photos, please visit: www.zf.com
Tags:
