The Commercial Vehicle Solutions division of global transmission and drive components company, ZF’ has announced that it has started production of its new CeTrax lite electric central drive.
ZF’s CVS division says it has used synergies from ZF’s development and production of passenger car electric drives to develop the new driveline and to adapt it for use in light commercial trucks.
Designed as a highly integrated electric drive, ZF says CeTrax lite provides significant advantages for manufacturers worldwide, particularly supporting emission-free urban and ‘last mile’ deliveries. The technology has already received orders from Asia and the Americas. The production started in Friedrichshafen, using the Groups competence coming from passenger car technology.
One of the first customers, is Japanese manufacturer and Australian truck market leader Isuzu, which has said it will install the drive in its new ELF EV trucks, set to make their debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in October this year.
“As an electric central drive, CeTrax lite allows our customers to electrify their existing vehicle platforms. This proves our technical approach and further demonstrates the trust customers are placing in our electric solutions,” said Winfried Gründler, head of product line for Driveline Systems with ZF’s Commercial Vehicle Solutions division.
“Designed for silent, emission-free inner-city and ‘last mile’ freight delivery, CeTrax lite provides leading levels of performance and efficiency. As such it represents an important new milestone in our ‘Next Generation Mobility’ strategy and reinforces our commitment to decarbonization of the industry,” added Gründler.
ZF said that the new driveline would provide a smart ‘turn-key’ solution to support the needs of light-duty commercial vehicles, saying that the technology supports the architectures of conventionally fuelled vehicles as well as manufacturers’ electrification strategies. ZF added that it has leveragied in-house developed components and wider eMobility system synergies including sharing test benches in Friedrichshafen.
Ther CeTrax driveline has been designed for light commercial vehicles up to 7.5 Tons, and has a peak performance of 150 kW and a torque of 1,500 Nm. The company says it has optimised compact design of the CeTrax lite to help maximise space for electric components and batteries.
The company says that the module is a fully integrated system, housing the electric motor as well as a single-speed transmission stage and power electronics. In addition to its enhanced flexibility, the system offers a light-weight design at around 120 kg.
