ZF Friedrichshafen AG entered into a definitive agreement to acquire WABCO. The planned acquisition has been approved by ZF’s Management Board and Supervisory Board and WABCO’s Board of Directors. Together, ZF and WABCO will form a global integrated mobility systems provider for commercial vehicles, creating added value for ZF’s commercial vehicle customers.

WABCO is a global supplier of braking control systems, technologies, and services that improve safety, efficiency, and connectivity of commercial vehicles including buses, trucks, and trailers. Its diverse products and services include integrated braking systems and stability control, air suspension systems, and transmission automation controls, as well as aerodynamics, telematics, and fleet management solutions.

The planned acquisition is part of ZF’s Next Generation Mobility strategy and will expand the company’s expertise to include commercial vehicle braking solutions for the first time. This plays a central role for the control of automated driving functions — including emergency braking maneuvers of trucks and trailers. Following the acquisition, customers of both companies will have a partner in ZF who can offer them a fully integrated system approach, new drive systems for E-Mobility, and autonomous driving functions. ZF expects that automated driving functions will primarily be implemented for commercial vehicles and in areas with low complexity and traffic (e.g. factory sites, airports, agriculture).

The combination of both businesses is expected to further accelerate the development of new technologies to enable autonomous commercial vehicle functions, making ZF less dependent on the economic cycle of the passenger car industry.

The planned strategic acquisition of WABCO is consistent with ZF’s goal to develop and deliver technology solutions that make cars and commercial vehicles see, think, and act in order to reduce emissions and increase road safety.