Supplier ZF finds Tesla, Nio, Lucid are hot for new technologies

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany — Holger Klein, CEO of ZF Friedrichshafen, said young automotive brands such as Tesla, Nio, Xpeng and Lucid are pushing the old German supplier in a different way than traditional automakers. The emerging brands want ZF's newest technologies as quickly as possible, even if some bugs haven't been eliminated in development. That urgency doesn't mean that ZF is willing to compromise on its proven development processes or skip quality steps, Klein emphasized. He cited ZF's retractable steering wheel as an example. The steering wheel can be folded back into the dashboard for more space and a customized environment for the driver.