Record sales in 2017
The German ZF group, a global truck transmission group for marine, automotive and industrial engines, announced sales up 6% in 2017. They reached 36.4 billion euros. Corporate profits (EBIT) amounted to 2.3 billion euros.
Industrial activity, which includes the marine market, represents only 8% of turnover and is not growing as strongly. ZF sees a slight positive dynamic in the recreational craft sector in 2017. Growth in marine activity should remain slightly positive in 2018, according to the German group.
2 billion for R&D
ZF plans to continue its research and development efforts in 2018, maintaining investment above 2 billion euros, after spending 2.2 billion euros in 2017. The main fields of research concern electric motors and hybridisation of transmission technologies, as well as the development of solutions for autonomous vehicles. Two electric motor component plants are planned.
"In addition to our"tried and tested" development for high volume production projects in traditional areas, we are now also working with dual operating systems," adds Wolf-Henning Scheider, CEO of ZF, on the subject of autonomous vehicles. With a transversal and agile R&D organisation, he wants to demonstrate that there can be"a start-up culture in a large group"
