ZF introduces 5-tonne electric concept truck for Japan

The German automobile supplier ZF has presented the prototype of an electric truck for the Japanese market. It is a 5-ton truck, in which ZF has integrated its CeTrax lite electric central drive for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles up to 7.5 tons.

In the prototype electric truck, the 120 kg light electric drive delivers 150 kW and features a torque of 380 Nm. During the development of the concept, ZF Japan engineers worked together with a team from the ZF headquarters in Germany. According to ZF, the 5-ton class is the most popular truck type on the Japanese market for light commercial vehicles.

“The beauty of our new E-drive module is that it can be installed in existing internal combustion engine models and therefore converted to a fully electric vehicle without major modifications to the chassis and axles. This is thanks to our ‘plug-and-drive’ concept,” says Robert T. Seidler, R&D Manager at ZF Japan. The system has also proven itself in terms of longevity and economy, as it is already on the market for passenger cars in serial production.

transportengineer.org.uk, zf.com (Video)