Staff Writer
Chennai: ZF Group, a global leader in driveline and chassis technology, officially inaugurated its Electric Park Brake (EPB) production line for its passenger car business at the Oragadam manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu. This milestone marks a strategic expansion of its advanced braking footprint for passenger cars in India. The inauguration formalises the scale-up of EPB manufacturing at the site, aligning with the rapid shift toward electric, connected, and technology focused software-defined passenger vehicles in the Indian market.
ZF’s EPB systems are already being supplied to leading Indian OEMs and are integrated in recently launched all-electric passenger vehicles. With this inauguration, ZF moves into complete industrialisation, positioning India as a manufacturing and engineering base for safety-critical, electronically controlled braking technologies for passenger cars within its global network.
Designed for scale, the Oragadam EPB line has the capacity to manufacture 800,000 units annually at peak. This is supported with an expanding Indian supplier ecosystem for precision mechanical and electronic components.
Speaking during the inauguration Akash Passey, President ZF Group India mentioned: “This localisation effort advances ZF’s ‘Make in India for India and the World’ strategy. This is a start of our growth story in India for serving domestic OEM demand while strengthening India’s role as a global supply hub for advanced braking systems. This line at Oragadam brings together our cutting-edge technology with our local manufacturing competence and deep engineering footprint to sever domestic and global markets. This is also a reflection of our long-term commitment to India as a hub for innovation and value driven manufacturing. “
Dr. Peter Holdmann, Board of Management member at ZF and head of Division Chassis Solutions highlighted: “As vehicle architecture evolves, braking systems are transitioning from mere mechanical assemblies to software-enabled safety technologies. ZF Group’s Electric Park Brake replaces conventional mechanical parking brakes with an electronically controlled system optimised for electric and software-defined vehicles. The system delivers low-drag performance to improve fuel efficiency and extend EV range, while significantly reducing noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH). All of which are critical for a smooth experience for the end user.”
Speaking on the development, Andreas Moser, Member of the Board of Management for the Commercial Vehicle Solutions and Industrial Technology Divisions and the India Region stated, “The future of mobility is being built in places that combine scale with innovation, and India is a key growth market. This Electric Park Brake line in Oragadam is a clear step forward on how ZF addresses local demand with global technologies, making mobility fit for the market and ready for the advent of the electric age. It signals a shift from volume to value-based requirements from leading OEMs and showcases our engineering depth. At ZF Group we count on India as a critical factor in shaping the next generation of global mobility and ZF Group’s role in it.”
The Oragadam multi-divisional facility is central to ZF’s India growth roadmap. As ZF’s key manufacturing site in India and 10th in Tamil Nadu, this site is an expansion plant for light commercial vehicles of the ZF Group in India. This is not a part of the ZF Commercial Vehicles Control Systems India Ltd or its subsidiary.
Integrated into the broader braking architecture, the EPB enables advanced functions such as dynamic actuation, emergency braking support, and brake pad wear sensing, offering OEMs flexibility across passenger car and light commercial vehicle platforms.
Globally, ZF has deployed over 250 million EPB callipers across vehicles worldwide. The inauguration of the EPB line in Oragadam further strengthens ZF’s ability to deliver these advanced braking systems at scale, reinforcing India’s growing role in the company’s global braking and chassis technology footprint.
