ZF Japan Co Ltd (www.zf.com) has developed an electric light commercial vehicle specifically for the Japanese market at its Tech Center in Yokohama (in collaboration with a team at ZF Friedrichshafen AG’s headquarters in Germany).

The ‘CeTrax lite’ prototype is based on ZF’s electric drive for passenger vehicles.

By integrating an electric motor, power electronics, a transmission and a cooling system, the company has achieved
a compact driveline unit with a total weight of 120kg.

Robert Seidler, head of R&D at ZF Japan, said: “The beauty of our new E-drive module is that it can be installed in existing models with internal combustion engines (ICEs), so they can be converted to a fully electric vehicle without major modifications to the chassis or axles.

“This is thanks to our ‘plug-and-drive’ concept, which is proven in terms of durability and cost-efficiency as the electric drive system for passenger cars.”

Mr Seidler said: “The new prototype is made by replacing the conventional ICE driveline of the most commonly used LCVs in Japan with ZF’s CeTrax lite.

Starting from this vehicle, ZF will continue to move towards electrification in Japan as well as globally, while endeavouring to meet the specific requirements of commercial-vehicle manufacturers and fleet operators.”

These requirements include delivery to 24hr stores in residential areas in the early morning or late at night, plus frequent stop-and-go driving to fill vending machines and make home deliveries, for example.