ZF Inaugurates Truck Transmission Plant in Pune, India

India has nine times the surface area of Germany and 14 times as many inhabitants, but only about twice the amount of road kilometers. "The comparative figures illustrate the potential that we see in setting up and expanding an efficient traffic infrastructure in India" says Rolf Lutz, Group Executive of the Commercial Vehicle and Special Driveline Technology division. "We want to make use of this opportunity with our new truck transmission plant."

ZF has been doing business in India for roughly three decades. Usually, joint ventures were founded with local partners, where ZF had a minority share or licenses were granted to Indian partner companies. Hans-Georg Härter: "We have adapted our strategy in the past few years to account for the rising significance of India. ZF now increasingly has majority shares or companies operated purely by ZF."

Currently, the Group has a roughly 29-percent share in Sona Somic Lemförder Ltd. which produces car suspension components in Delhi, Uttarakhand and Chennai, a 26-percent share in ZF Steering Gear (India) Ltd. which produces commercial vehicle steering systems in Pune, and a 50-percent share in ZF Electronics TVS (India) Private Ltd. which produces electronic components in Madurai.

Three years ago, ZF founded the ZF Lenksysteme India Private Ltd., headquartered in Pune. In March 2010, ZF and Hero Motors Ltd. founded the joint venture ZF Hero Chassis Systems. In doing so, ZF acquired half of Hero Chassis Systems, including the locations in Halol, 500 kilometers north of Mumbai, and Talegaon near Pune. A few years ago, ZF also established the ZF India Private Ltd. holding in Pune. ZF Services was set up with service locations in Raipur, Bangalore, and Pune as well as the assembly plant of ZF's Off-Road Driveline Technology and Axle Systems division which was inaugurated at the beginning of 2010 with a production area of about 26,000 square feet in Pune.

With about 54,000 square feet production area, the now inaugurated truck transmission plant of the Commercial Vehicle and Special Driveline Technology division is more than twice the size. "Unlike our competitors we can offer the entire product range for commercial vehicle transmissions: Manual transmissions, automated transmissions, and automatic transmissions", explains Rolf Lutz. "We can supply anything that is demanded by the market – right up to hybrid modules for all ZF transmissions. In doing so, we adapt the existing ZF technology to suit the requirements of the local markets", says Lutz.

"In the medium term, our new transmission plant will produce 25,000 ZF-Ecomid 9-speed transmissions annually for heavy trucks up to more than 40 tons weight", explains Mandeep Bhalla, head of ZF's commercial vehicle business in India. "Depending on the demand, we can produce other truck transmission types for our current customers Asia Motor Works, Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra Navistar, Volvo-Eicher, and Kamaz Vectra Motors as well as new customers."

At production start, ZF employs roughly 80 employees in the truck transmission assembly plant; after production ramp-up, this figure will increase to 150 in the next five years. "Transmission housings, gears, and shafts are already being produced in India; in the medium term, a localization level of 80 to 85 percent is planned", says Mandeep Bhalla. "And this is where an excellent supplier base, established during our long-standing commitment in India, will be very helpful".