Members of the Northern Regional Engineers Committee (NREC) gathered together at ZF Services UK’s Centre of Competence in Nottingham for its most recent meeting of the year. There they experienced first-hand the capabilities of the leading driveline specialist’s latest technology, as part of its broad e-mobility offering.
The director of ZF Services UK, Chris Adcock, welcomed the group and gave a brief overview of the company’s new products and innovations, before offering a tour of the workshop and facilities. The remanufacturing facilities have recently undergone a substantial expansion so that ZFS UK are service-ready to cater for the growing requirement of operators dealing direct with ZF Services UK, both with transmission and axle repairs.
After the warm welcoming, delegates were invited to board a ZF Test bus, specially fitted with the ZF AxTrax AVE electric axle, as they were taken on a test drive around Nottingham city centre. The 45-minute showcase enabled the group to feel and experience first-hand the benefits of the electric axle – specifically the effortless take off, the obvious noise reduction, and the uncompromising and relentless torque delivery, all achieved with zero emissions and self-charging technology.
The AxTrax AVE’s performance is currently unmatched by any other electric drive for city buses due to its low weight and high output and the enormous traction, which means that a single electric axle – employed as pusher or puller – is capable of driving even fully laden articulated buses.
Equipping bus fleets with electric drivelines in noise- and pollution-sensitive towns and cities provides enormous potential for emissions reduction, and ZF Services UK is continuing to implement new customer projects with the AxTrax AVE.
As a response to international requests for quotations for electrically powered buses, ZF – as European market leader – has received orders for more than 1,000 of its AxTrax AVE electric portal axles. These will soon be contributing to 60 million zero-emission passenger kilometers each year in cities such as Los Angeles, London or Stuttgart.
