ZF says it is looking to develop platooning concepts as it moves to increase its operations with autonomous and electric driving for vans and commercial vehicles.
The supplier made its remarks at a briefing in its Friedrichshafen headquarters on the shores of Lake Constance in Southern Germany and as it outlined its joint venture with mobility solutions provider, e.Go.
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The platooning initiative comes on the back of ZF’s push to develop automated driving for commercial vehicles, particularly with regard to operations in harbours, logistics depots or agricultural environments.
Continuing its work for delivery vehicles, ZF will also showcase its ProAI supercomputer and set of related sensor systems at this year’s IAA Commercial Vehicles show in September
“You can expect from ZF concrete platooning applications,” ZF CEO Wolf-Henning Scheider told just-auto in Friedrichshafen. “Initially we [also] expect to see automated driving activities more commonplace on company premises and logistics depots, in harbours or in agricultural environments as operations here tend to be more recurrent and the surroundings are not very complex.
“It [ProAI supercomputer] is around 1,000 times stronger in computing power than today’s ECUs. We believe autonomous technology will become standard where they increase safety. Automation in transport is obviously connected to [digitalisation] and ZF is now well positioned. Due to the fast moving environment it needs adjustment and it needs speed. We call our approach next generation mobility: It is electric mobility for clean driving – it is integrated safety with zero accidents and it is vehicle motion control.
“ZF electrifies every type of vehicle from the bicycle to the electric truck. For example for city buses and commercial vans we assume a penetration rate of up to 30% [and] hybrids in long-haul transport as soon as the early 2020s. Driving pleasure will develop into the pleasure of being driven.
“We are a reliable partner of vehicle manufacturers, but we are also teaming up with new players, now mobility providers. We see potential in particular at the interface of logistics and passenger transportation. They require fast development and expertise from their supplier.
“Now the e.Go Moove is taking the next step in a joint venture. The vehicle will go into production this year [and] ZF supplies the full range of components [for it].”
ZF believes sales for the e.Go Moove will reach around one million in the next five to seven years and will equip it with electric drive systems, steering and brakes as well as the ProAI computer and sensors for automated driving.
The tie-up will not mark ZF’s entry into vehicle production however, as the supplier CEO was keen to stress: “I am not a car builder and we don’t want to be a car builder said Scheider. “But this [e.Go] partnership [means we] can build a fully automated system with a partner.
“This gives us a development environment which is unique and this is why we have teamed up. Since the company [e.Go] needs a little bit of [undisclosed] capital we decided to help, but we will definitely not go for vehicle building.”
