ZF's Improved Modular Electric Drivetrain Arrives in 2025

• The auto industry needs so many electric motors right now that the backlog is worth almost $26 billion, according to supplier ZF.

• To help fill the need, ZF this week announced details of its next-generation electric motor, power electronics, transmission, and control software.

• The new system is lighter and smaller than the current system and requires around 10 percent fewer raw materials to build, including barely any rare earth metals.

Evolving and improving mechanical devices in an automobile has long been focused on the internal-combustion engine. With the slow shift to electric powertrains underway, it shouldn't be a surprise that the industry is refocusing engineering talent on making next-generation electric motors more efficient. That's just what ZF announced this week it has done.

Actually, ZF said it made not just the motor but the overall system, or what it calls e-drive, more efficient. That also required improving the power electronics, the transmission, and the control software. ZF will offer its new e-drive systems to automakers as a modular system starting from one of three basic configurations beginning in 2025. The individual components will be available sooner. ZF said in its announcement that there is a backlog of electric motors and their related powertrain components worth almost $26 billion.

Lighter, Smaller, More Powerful