ZF Sets Up Third R&D Center in China
ZF Friedrichshafen AG is making preparations to
construct a 3-rd Chinese R&D center in Guangzhou. ZF officials and the
local government have formalized this project and ZF is determined to put in
approximately $99 mln in the new undertaking.
ZF’s development locations worldwide
This step stems from ZF's strategy to localize
R&D directly in the region with some of the most rapidly growing car market,
thereby facilitating to adoption of popular trends (electrification,
self-driving solutions, etc) in China.
ZF already has 2 such facilities in China, both
placed in Shanghai. These facilities focus not only on building of safety
solutions as well as innovations in the field of driveline and chassis
solutions, but also support ZF’s Asian customers. In the meantime, the rapid
development of innovations for future electrification has generated extra demand
for engineering potential, and the new R&D center in Guangzhou is supposed
to respond to this demand.
The intention to construct a 3-rd R&D
center in China plays a crucial role and supports the implementation ZF’s mission
consisting in further strengthening of its positions on one of the most
promising automotive markets. The new facility will provide innovative solutions
that can delivered to the Asian market. It is planned that the new facility
will be put into operation by 2023.
To be more precise, the new R&D center will
be responsible for innovative software and related solutions, which will find
application in the mobility of the future. Thanks to joint forces of all 3 facilities,
ZF will have enough technical potential to supply its customers with sophisticated
products (software-hardware package), thus facilitating to efficient and budget-friendly
next-gen mobility.
ZF has been working in China for almost four decades and has about 40 sites in the country. Last year, ZF’s sales revenue reached approximately $6.8 bln in China with almost 15,000 workers.
