ZF to Launch PowerLine Transmission in 2021
ZF has announced that it plans to start
production of an 8-speed automatic transmission, named as ZF PowerLine, for medium-duty
trucks at the NACV exhibition in the US. The new solution will hit the automotive
market in early 2021.
ZF representative at the
NACV 2019
The commercial vehicle (CV) segment in the US
has been having a hard time lately: unemployment issues, operating expenses,
stringent regulatory approach. ZF, a major supplier of automotive solutions, is
ready to provide a wide range of efficient solutions that will facilitate to the
market transformations. When it comes to gear shifting solutions, ZF designs
and produces top-quality products to make cars more fuel-efficient and
easy-to-handle products.
ZF PowerLine is a great instance of improved mobility solutions. This unit has already gained recognition on European and Asian markets, where ZF supplied more than 15 mln units since 2007. At the end of next year, ZF plans to start manufacturing of this transmission for CVs. This transmission will be used in the product line of some major American truck manufacturer, replacing Allison transmission units used in most of CVs in the US in 2021. According to the North American ZF representative, this transmission unit can be adjusted for application in a variety of vehicle classes. It can be paired with engines with the torque capacity of 1355 Nm and vehicle weights of 25,8 tons.
With its space-saving and robust gearset, the
new transmission ensures impressive power-to-weight ratio. Extremely smooth
gear shifting facilitates to significant improvements in acceleration capacity
when compared to standard automatics for this segment. The transmission is also
equipped with power take-off mechanism. Other remarkable features include the
following
:
Thanks to the use of sophisticated technologies, ZF engineers managed to achieve solid enhancement in fuel economy, thereby significantly reducing CO2 emissions compared to 6-speed analogs. The PowerLine unit is not only comparable to 9 or 10-speed units, but frequently turns out to be even more efficient. ZF PowerLine guarantees prolonged service life of the unit and reduced TCO. ZF expects that this transmission will set a standard for commercial gear shifting solutions, which will appeal to potential US customers.
