More than five years ago, the supplier group ZF started the production of the electric central drive for commercial vehicles, CeTrax. The component was developed for buses up to twelve meters in length as well as medium-duty distribution trucks up to twelve tons total weight. Special feature: it is suitable not only as a drive for new electric vehicles like high-floor buses, but also for the electrification of conventional powertrains. The CeTrax is a supplement to the two-motor electric portal axle AxTrax, which has been installed in low-floor buses for some time. The first customer for the CeTrax was the Polish bus manufacturer Solaris. Now the company, which manufactures several thousand units annually at its headquarters in Friedrichshafen, reports the 10,000th unit of the electric central drive.
Only a few
years after the start of production of the CeTrax, the supplier group launched the CeTrax lite in 2023, which serves the electrification of vans and light trucks up to 7.5 tons. Here, the 1,000 mark was reached around a year after production began in April 2024. But the mobility specialist already has another successor in the pipeline: the CeTrax 2 is set to be released mid-2026. Recommended for buses up to 19 tons total weight, the electric central drive will be presented to an international audience for the first time at the UITP (Union Internationale des Transports Publics) Summit in Hamburg from June 15 to 18, 2025.The generation, consisting of the most modern components, is intended to offer the commercial vehicle industry flexible application possibilities.
And the developments are moving
forward rapidly: next, ZF sets its sights on the top transport segments. Winfried Gründler, Head of the Driveline Technology product line in the ZF Division CVS (Commercial Vehicle Solutions), comments on the current anniversary:
“The CeTrax anniversary shows that an innovative concept, product quality, and reliability pay off in the form of numbers. The success story of CeTrax is also the starting point for the next generation of electric drives for commercial vehicles, now up to a total weight of 44 tons.”
As reported by ZF, the series run for the CeTrax began in 2019, around two years after its first presentation at the Busworld exhibition. The electric central drive machine includes as a complete system an inverter, electronic control, and ZF software. “It complements the electric axle drive as
another electric drive concept for city buses and special vehicles,” it states. Furthermore, with a continuous output of 175 kW, it is also suitable for challenging urban applications. The major advantage lies in its ability to integrate into existing drive configurations: “This made it attractive for commercial vehicle manufacturers who wanted to electrify their existing diesel model platforms.” The range of applications is also increased by its capability to be used either in battery-electric or fuel cell drives.
Target Group Public Transport
According to the supplier, the demand for the series-produced CeTrax systems is mainly driven by the increasing electrification of public transport in cities and municipalities.
However, the product has also tapped into additional customer segments besides bus manufacturers, such as applications in terminal tractors used in ports and
