ZF autonomous EV venture to start output this year, names first customer

LAS VEGAS -- German supplier ZF Friedrichshafen’s push into vehicle manufacturing will intensify as its joint venture for full-electric, connected and automated shuttles starts production of the e.Go Mover this year with the aim of reaching five-digit output numbers in two to three years.

An unspecified number of e.Go Movers will go to Transdev as the France-based mobility provider becomes the first customer for e.Go Moove GmbH, the JV that includes ZF and German startup electric vehicle maker e.Go Mobile.

The partners announced the deal at the CES here on Monday.

ZF said last September that it plans to invest 12 billion euros ($13.6 billion) over the next five years in electric and autonomous vehicle technology. When ZF made the announcement it also revealed plans to develop a battery-powered delivery van that can drive on its own. That project is different from the supplier’s JV for the e.Go Mover.

Ready by 2020
 
ZF, e.Go Mobile and Transdev want to have the vehicle ready for deployment by 2020 with France and Germany being the initial launch markets.

Transdev will start by having a safety driver in the vehicle, but the goal of the partners is to offer the highest level of autonomous driving allowed, a ZF spokesman said. At Level 4 autonomy, a vehicle can drive itself but still has a steering wheel and pedals so that the driver can take control when needed. At Level 5, the vehicle has no steering wheel or pedals.

ZF will equip the e.Go Mover with electric drive systems, steering systems and brakes as well as the company’s ProAI central computer, which includes artificial intelligence, as well as sensors that enable automated driving functions. The vehicles will be produced by e.Go Mobile in Aachen, Germany.

ZF is also showcasing many of the technologies that will be in Transdev’s vehicle at the CES in a steering-wheel- and pedal-free robotaxi concept.