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.