ZF’s featured product at the Expo was its latest telematics solution that offers complete insight into a vehicle’s performance.
It’s no surprise that global technology company ZF had an impressive range of traditional and electric OE axles, transmissions and aftermarket parts at the Expo. But the company focused on its new telematics product.
The ZF Bus Connect telematics system is a new solution that the company currently has on trial around Australia. ZF application engineer Jason Moses says the Bus Connect system capitalises on ZF’s unique involvement in many aspects of a bus’s design.
“The Bus Connect telematics product is new for us at this Expo,” Moses told ABC. “It works by connecting into the vehicle and communicating the vehicles position and live operating data to a user portal that can help improve efficiency and safety.”
Moses says Bus Connect can obtain all vehicle data, which can be used to generate reports for diagnostic purpose and send alerts back to the operator. This allows fleet owners to remotely diagnose faults if they appear and notify the driver to call back to a workshop.
Being able to do this on electric vehicles is a bonus for ZF. Moses says Bus Connect’s capability can also extend to monitoring performance and battery health through the Bus Connect portal.
“This means we can collate data for efficiency purposes and combined with Bus Connect’s driver training feature (Profi Driver), it ensures the bus is being driven in the most energy efficient and safest way,” Moses says. “It can also help fleet operators manage their electric buses by remotely evaluating data, such as the amount of remaining range on their vehicles.”
RELATED ARTICLE: ZF Expo preview
ZF still displayed a variety of its well-known parts and products for the industry. This included the ZF EcoLife transmission that is more fuel efficient after recent design amendments.
“We also brought our CeTrax electric central drive and our AxTrax AVE electric portal axle that incorporates two integrated electric motors into the wheel hubs to allow for a low floor design,” ZF head of commercial vehicle aftermarket in Oceania Blair Rundle says. “The CeTrax is the smaller electric transmission that can be integrated into traditional drivelines layouts, replacing the engine.”
Rundle says diesel engine buses at the Expo would most likely have a ZF or WABCO product onboard. Along with brake and control systems and its traditional suspension offerings, ZF ensured it covered all bases for customers.
“We’re very lucky that 90 per cent of buses here will have our suspension control or WABCO products on it,” Rundle says. “Luckily WABCO created a global platform that means its electronic braking system (EBS) can go onto a Chinese or an Australian bus, reducing the development cost.”
Rundle says ZF purposely brought as many different parts as possible to highlight the total coverage that the company can supply customers.
“We’re showcasing every part of ZF that we can at the Expo,” Rundle says. “We have bumper to bumper solutions – it gets down to having oils that specifically suit certain vehicles.
“Having everything we can is an exciting place to be in, and it separates us in the market.”