ZF abandons its own robo-shuttle

The Friedrichshafen-based technology group ZF has made a U-turn on the topic of autonomous shuttles and is ceasing the development of its own vehicle. In the future, the company plans to refocus on its role as a leading technology provider for autonomous driving. As a result, it is abandoning its goal of offering complete autonomous transport systems, including shuttles and their fleet management. Instead, the strategic focus will shift to providing engineering services for customers and further developing components needed for autonomous driving, the Friedrichshafen company announced.

"The high initial investments are no longer justified, as the market is developing more slowly than expected, the ongoing multidimensional crisis, and the advancing shift to e-mobility demand a strict cost orientation across the entire industry. After weighing all options, ZF has concluded that the most promising strategy for the future is to focus on positioning itself as a premium provider of autonomous driving technologies and on engineering services," the responsible parties stated.

ZF sees itself as a premium provider for ADAS and AD technology and will therefore maintain its original position as a supplier for vehicle manufacturers while continuing to develop the technologies needed for building autonomous transport systems and vehicles with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving (AD) functions. Additionally, the company plans to market its system solution competence and offer development services to customers in the automotive and mobility industry. ZF will support customers with a comprehensive portfolio of components and software, including high-performance computers, specialized software solutions, and intelligent actuators, and provide development services to support the R&D activities of customers.