INDIANAPOLIS. Driveline, chassis and safety technology company ZF demoed upcoming steering products for heavy duty trucks and a new medium-to-heavy-duty truck/ HD pickup transmission—both of which the company says can improve fleet profitability and vehicle performance in a number of ways.
With 2017 sales of $42.5 billion, ZF has been targeting expansion in global markets including North America, reinvesting nearly 10% of that amount in plants, equipment, engineering, product development and other areas. The company is leveraging its large footprint as an automotive supplier and product knowledge to grow its expanding commercial product business.
Internally, what ZF calls its "T Division" (signifying "Transportation") combines all its commercial truck and bus business activities. That includes driveline, chassis, steering, axle and transmission systems and technology as well as advanced safety systems for commercial vehicles.
PowerLine transmission
Drawing from its 8-speed passenger car automatic already in wide use in vehicles like the Ram 1500 pickup, BMW X5 and Porsche Panamera—some 50 million units have been produced over the last 10 years—ZF showcased its coming PowerLine automatic transmission designed for Class 5-8 commercial vehicles up to 57,000 lbs combined weight, though use in lighter classes also is possible. The company says it's "ideal" for applications ranging from HD pickups to beverage and distribution trucks to school buses.
"We are using our 8-speed gear concepts and the developed intelligence of the product and bringing it to commercial vehicles," explained Christian Feldhaus, senior product manager of sales at ZF. "We are reusing mechatronic components which are the 'brain' of the transmission," he said, "and are leveraging that to make commercial vehicles more intelligent."
