ZF

June 2008 -- The new dual clutch transmission is presented for the first time to approximately 900 engineers and press representatives at the VDI 'Transmissions in Vehicles' Event in Friedrichshafen. The 7DT sports transmission is particularly suited for applications with high engine speed requirements. Gear changes without traction interruption allow for very good acceleration and vehicle handling with low fuel consumption. The transmission was developed in Kressbronn, Brandenburg, and Schweinfurt; it is produced at the Brandenburg site of ZF's Car Driveline Technology division.

Board of Management members present Volkswagen Group Award 2008 on Ibiza

Wolfsburg / Ibiza, 25 May 2008 - The “Volkswagen Group Award 2008” was presented to the Volkswagen Group’s top suppliers on the Spanish island of Ibiza yesterday evening. Prof. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, and Francisco J. Garcia Sanz, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft with responsibility for ‘Procurement’, presented a total of 15 international winners with their awards for outstanding achievement.

All from a single source: from technical information to repair instructions to spare parts

Friedrichshafen, 2008/05/13 -- For more than 90 years, vehicles with ZF technology have been used on land, water and in the air. The automotive supplier does now justice to this long standing tradition of technology by pooling its service offers for vintage vehicle owners. Themed "ZF Tradition",everything will be offered from a single source in the future.

First-time volume production of hybrid modules in Europe

May 2008 -- On May 07, 2008, ZF's CEO Hans-Georg Härter and the Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, Michael Glos, officially inaugurated Germany's first production location for the industrial production of hybrid drive modules. Currently, release samples are being produced in a new production hall at the ZF Sachs location in Schweinfurt.

ZF Hybrid Drive Module: Pioneer: Europe-wide, ZF is the first supplier to produce hybrid modules in volume production. The electric motors developed for use in the driveline feature a capacity of 10 to 100kW, depending on the application and customer request. (Photo: ZF)

Highlights:

March 25, 2008 -- It doesn’t like leaps and bounds and prefers to take the safe route. That’s what makes the Nivomat level control system from ZF Sachs so successful. The variable spring/damping system ensures perfect levelling in cars or vans – independent of load conditions – for enhanced driving safety and comfort. With a price comparable to an air conditioning, this system can be ordered ex works in many standard vehicles.

Feb. 2008 -- The BMW X5 is the first SUV/SAV to offer active steering from ZF Lenksysteme, a 50:50 joint venture of Robert Bosch GmbH and ZF Friedrichshafen AG, as an option. The active steering system varies the ratio between steering wheel movement and front wheel angle. At slower speeds a slight turn of the steering wheel has a more pronounced effect on the steering response. The opposite is true at higher speeds.

30.01.2008 -- A two-ton vehicle capable of handling tight turns with high-performance sports car agility? And rock-solid directional stability? This isn’t sleight of hand. It’s the art of automotive engineering. ZF specialists made this possible by concentrating on a key suspension component: stabilizers.

ZF's Active Roll Stabilization

07.01.2008 -- It doesn’t like leaps and bounds and prefers to take the safe route. That’s what makes the Nivomat level control system from ZF Sachs so successful. The variable spring/damping system ensures perfect levelling in cars or vans – independent of load conditions – for enhanced driving safety and comfort. With a price comparable to an air conditioning, this system can be ordered ex works in many standard vehicles.

04/12/2007 -- GKN Driveline and ZF announce an extended cooperation in the field of torque vectoring systems. The cooperation agreement covers the joint development, manufacturing and marketing of torque vectoring systems in rear axles for rear and all wheel driven vehicles.

Key technical content of this collaboration is the integration of mechanical and electrical components and the development of the corresponding software.

Dec. 2007 -- ZF is focusing on growth and expects sales in Eastern European to increase by 10 percent. The aim is to gain access to the markets in the East. Any company interested in doing business with Eastern European vehicle manufacturers needs to have a local presence in these countries. All of the major volume manufacturers have developed production capacities in the East, and all ZF competitors have established themselves here. Without a presence in Eastern Europe, ZF could runs the risk of being driven out of the market in Western Europe by low-cost suppliers from Eastern Europe. The same applies to Japanese and Korean vehicle manufacturers who have been joined in Eastern Europe by their Asian suppliers. ZF wants to get in on the action as a partner for Asian manufacturers.

04/12/2007 -- GKN Driveline and ZF announce an extended cooperation in the field of torque vectoring systems. The cooperation agreement covers the joint development, manufacturing and marketing of torque vectoring systems in rear axles for rear and all wheel driven vehicles.

Key technical content of this collaboration is the integration of mechanical and electrical components and the development of the corresponding software.

Low-floor buses have become firmly established in European public transport systems and ZF is the company that pioneered the special axle technology for full-length, low-floor city buses. Passengers not only benefit from convenient entry and exit, waiting times at bus stops are also much shorter.

Low-floor technology has opened the door to a versatile, bus-based concept known as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). The most outstanding example of this system is in Beijing, site of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

10/30.07 -- In modern passenger cars, components and systems by ZF increase safety, driving/riding comfort, and driving dynamics. These properties can be further reinforced when several ZF systems are used in a control network. One example for such a network is the IWD (Intelligent Wheel Dynamics) concept by ZF.

The target of all active control systems is achieving optimum road contact for all tires, in any given driving situation. The input torque is dosed by the transmission and individually distributed by means of Torque Vectoring among the wheels. The steering system pre-determines the wheel setting and the individual tire contact force is modified by the chassis, the damping, or the level-control system, as well as by the Active Roll Stabilization system.

2007/10/30 - It all started with the QASHQAI: The cross-over with the exotic name was the first vehicle by the Nissan company with special ZF Sachs dampers. Now, four more vehicles are added, all based on the same C platform. The order for this global platform is a premiere for ZF's Powertrain and Suspension Components division.

2007 Nissan QASHQAI

Working in cooperation with Iveco, ZF developed the first automatic transmission for heavy-duty commercial vehicles 10 years ago. Ever since, the ZF AS Tronic has been taking the work out of shifting gears for truck drivers all over the world. Today, ZF supplies a full range of automatic transmission systems for a wide variety of commercial vehicle applications.

08.10.2007 -- ZF is one of Germany's top-25 employers for engineers. Nevertheless, the company needs more qualified employees – primarily engineers specializing in research & development, production and assembly. New personnel are required to meet the growing demand for advanced technologies.