Guangzhou,
China/Friedrichshafen, Germany. ZF Friedrichshafen AG is establishing a third
Chinese research and development center in Guangzhou southern China.
Representatives of ZF and the local authorities have signed an agreement and ZF
plans to invest approximately €90 million in the new development center.
ZF already has two development centers in China, both located in Shanghai. With their respective focus on the development of active and passive safety technology as well as driveline and chassis technology, the two centers support ZF customers throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Meanwhile, the massive expansion of future technologies such as automated driving and e-mobility has created additional demand for engineering capacities, which ZF is addressing with the establishment of the research and development center in Guangzhou.
“The decision
to build a third development center in China is of great importance and
confirms ZF’s strategic goal of further expansion in the largest global
automotive market,” says Dr. Holger Klein, member of ZF’s Board of Management
and responsible for the Asia-Pacific region. “The new center will develop key
technologies and system solutions for ZF that we can also use in other market
regions.”
The new
research and development center in Guangzhou, is planned to be operational by
2023. In addition, the center will also be home to a satellite of the
Shanghai-based research and development centers in order to optimally serve
customers in southern China.
The
development center in Guangzhou will have core competencies in engineering and
research and development and will cover aspects such as software development
and related technologies for the mobility of the future. Together, the three
research and development centers in China will be able to offer ZF customers
comprehensive system solutions ranging from software to hardware, thus
contributing to clean, safe, and affordable next-generation mobility. The
settlement in Guangzhou also follows the ZF approach of localizing research and
development directly in the respective markets and quickly adapting to the
industry trends in electrification, automation, connectivity, and mobility
services in China.