BERLIN, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The powertrain components of Daimler's new electric SUV, the EQC, will come from German automotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen AG, announced Wolf-Henning Scheider, chief executive officer (CEO) of ZF, in an interview with the newspaper Stuttgarter Zeitung on Wednesday.
Germany's third largest automotive supplier will provide the "complete driveline module" for Daimler's EQC family, from electric motors to single-gear transmissions with differentials, as well as the control software, Scheider explained.
The order placed by Daimler was "an important milestone," Scheider said, but did not specify the volume of the powertrain order. It is up to Daimler to reveal any "details" of the deal, he said.
Last week, ZF already announced its "second largest single order" by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) for eight-speed automatic transmissions, which "feature an integrated electric drive for hybrid variants."
ZF's cooperation with FCA "confirms our strategy to focus on plug-in hybrids as an everyday solution", Scheider commented.
German carmaker BMW had already ordered the same transmission produced by ZF back in May.
The value of the "largest single order in the history of ZF" would be in the double-digit billion-euro range, ZF said. The company expects to start the production of the new transmissions for BMW by 2022.
In his interview with the Stuttgarter Zeitung, Scheider stressed that the transformation to e-mobility would cost "a lot of money" and that the development expenses "increase significantly year after year."
Accordingly, Scheider expects ZF's development costs to climb to record highs this year.
