Into the Future with Partners & Platform Strategy

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Interview with Dr. Otmar Scharrer, Head of Engineering, responsible for electric drives in the new Electrified Powertrain Technology division. Inventory and outlook.

Andreas Kohlmeyer, January 11, 2021

Andreas Kohlmeyer has 25 years of marketing and communications experience in the automotive industry. He is engaged in ZF products and solution approaches for electromobility.

Through your previous professional positions, you are familiar with the perspective of both suppliers and OEMs. Where does ZF stand in this competitive environment with its electric drive solutions?

With its current technology portfolio, ZF is positioned quite well. This is already a unique selling point in this range - in terms of vehicle technology. We can offer everything from individual components to systems. From the e-machine with 80 kilowatts of power in a hybrid module to the purely battery-powered 800-volt high-performance drive. Our electrification promise "ZF electrifies everything" applies to passenger cars and commercial vehicles as well as to off-road vehicles, and Formula E as a high-tech laboratory.

Working on scalable kits in electromobility: Dr. Otmar Scharrer, Head of Engineering, responsible for electric drives in the new Electrified Powertrain Technology division at ZF.

Are there other success factors?

Besides the e-motor especially power electronics with their software offer for companies like ours a huge potential for differentiation. Together with partners like Danfoss for power modules, as well as Cree and VisIC as specialists for semiconductors, we are well positioned in this segment. Now it is up to us to make profitable products by combining our own knowledge with the know-how of our partners.

What is currently keeping the company busy in your department?

We want, and we need to focus even more consistently on our product portfolio. In the near future, we will therefore concentrate our existing resources on developing and implementing a platform strategy. In concrete terms, this means that in electromobility we are working on scalable modules that will enable us to benefit strongly from the existing fierce competition. Our electric axle drive with its wide range of configuration options is a good example of the direction we want to take.