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German automotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen AG receives a €425 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to develop advanced braking and steering technologies. This investment will help ZF remain competitive in the shift towards automated driving, focusing on x-by-wire technology and new software architectures.
Key Highlights:
- Loan Amount: €425 million from the EIB
- Total Investment: €1.3 billion in R&D for braking and steering systems
- Technology Focus: x-by-wire, steer-by-wire systems, and software-defined vehicle architectures
- Impact: Enhanced vehicle control, driving stability, and safety
- Geographical Investment: 30% in EU cohesion regions (Poland, Romania, Czech Republic)
- Job Creation: Safeguard and create jobs, train in new skills
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a promotional loan of €425 million to ZF Friedrichshafen AG, a leading German automotive supplier. This funding will enable ZF to invest a total of €1.3 billion in the research and development of innovative technologies for braking and steering systems, facilitating the transition to software-defined vehicles.
With these advancements, ZF aims to maintain its competitive edge as the mobility sector progresses towards highly automated driving. The company is at the forefront of developing and industrializing modern chassis systems.
The EIB loan will finance the development of x-by-wire technology, including the steer-by-wire system, which eliminates the mechanical link between the steering wheel and the steering system. Such technologies are crucial for higher levels of vehicle automation, offering improved vehicle control, greater steering flexibility, enhanced driving stability at high speeds, and overall increased safety and comfort.
Alongside hardware innovations, software plays a pivotal role in this project. The automotive industry is moving away from numerous individual hardware controls towards overarching domain and zone architectures. The new electric and electronic vehicle architectures consolidate all software for specific functional areas of a car into a central control unit, marking a significant step towards autonomous driving.
This project will contribute to more efficient and sustainable mobility across Europe. Approximately 30% of the planned investments will be directed towards EU cohesion regions such as Poland, Romania, and the Czech Republic. It will also safeguard and create jobs, providing training in new skills, particularly in software development.
This transaction is the third collaboration between the EIB and ZF. Their partnership began in 2016 to enhance the efficiency of combustion engines and continued in 2021 to accelerate innovation in autonomous driving.
EIB Vice-President Nicola Beer stated, “This project is an excellent example of how the EIB supports the innovation capacity of the European transport and automotive industry. Technological leadership in the field of highly innovative braking and steering systems is of great importance to strengthen the competitiveness of the European industry and to secure jobs along the entire value chain. This transaction underlines the successful strategic cooperation with ZF, a supplier with high innovative strength in this future area.”
ZF Management Board member Michael Frick, responsible for IT, equity investments, and passive safety technology, expressed, “We are pleased to continue our longstanding partnership with the EIB. The EIB stands for long-term financing and is recognized as a sustainable investor. That suits us well as a company with two foundations as shareholders.”
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