To help make the conversion to local emission-free public transport as easy and flexible as possible, ZF supports commercial vehicle manufacturers with its broad technology expertise and system competence. Various manufacturers worldwide already rely on the AxTrax AVE portal axle as an electric drive for buses in public transport. Starting in the third quarter of 2020, the CeTrax electric central drive will be the second electric drive from ZF for public transport to go into volume production. The drive will be manufactured in Friedrichshafen.
“The start of series production of the electric central drive for buses illustrates the pioneering position ZF is taking in electrification. CeTrax is another building block on the way to emission-free public transport, which ZF supports to the best of its ability,” said Dr. Andreas Grossl, responsible for axle and transmission systems for buses and coaches at ZF. “Winning over bus manufacturers with a market entry electric drive shows that we are on the right track with our strategy.”
CeTrax
ZF designed CeTrax for use in buses and presented it to the public for the first time in a ZF test vehicle in 2017. The design of the drive is based on a plug-and-drive approach. CeTrax can be easily installed in vehicles with a conventional driveline layout. Moreover, CeTrax, like ZF's other electric drives, can be operated via battery, trolley system or supercaps, and in a fuel cell configuration. It is thus suitable for the development of new vehicles as well as for retrofitting of existing platforms.
This allows vehicle manufacturers and fleet operators to respond flexibly to market requirements and legal regulations. Convinced of the numerous product advantages, the Polish bus manufacturer Solaris will source CeTrax to power the new Urbino 15 LE electric model. Further customer launches are in preparation.
Emission-free across the city
Tighter emission limits and the public debate on fine dust pollutants are putting pressure across the mobility spectrum. Local public transportation is, in particular, under an obligation to reduce emissions and thus ease the burden on the environment. As a technology group and a long-standing partner of the commercial vehicle industry, ZF supports manufacturers in this conversion with its technological expertise.
