ZF Friedrichshafen AG has acquired a 60 percent share of 2getthere B.V., which offers automated transport systems and is located in Utrecht/Netherlands.
2getthere’s applications range from driverless electric transport systems at airports, business and theme parks to dedicated urban transport infrastructures.
With this strategic investment, ZF is executing its Next Generation Mobility strategy to strengthen its foothold in the Mobility as a Service and automated guided vehicle growth markets.
“2getthere has more than three decades of experience in the market for autonomous passenger transport vehicles as well as unique engineering and software competences, said Wolf-Henning Scheider, Chairman of the Board of Management at ZF Friedrichshafen AG.
“This acquisition supports our strategy to become a leading autonomous transportation systems supplier in the booming new mobility market.”
The majority stake in 2getthere complements ZF’s existing investments and co-operations, such as the e.GO Moove, a joint venture with e.GO Mobile AG, which targets the production of the e.GO Mover autonomous minibus, as well as Transdev, a leading operator and global provider of integrated mobility solutions.
2getthere was founded in 1984 and has accumulated more than 100 million kilometres of autonomous mileage with driverless passenger and cargo transport systems in several major cities worldwide, including Rotterdam, Abu Dhabi and Singapore, as well as numerous ports and airports.
Its driverless systems, in revenue service at business park Rivium (Capelle aan den IJssel) and Masdar City (Abu Dhabi), have transported more than 14 million people.
“The market for driverless electric transport systems is developing dynamically. We want to continue to lead the market and the involvement of ZF is helping us to realise our growth plans, accelerate our technology roadmap and provide the required security for new and existing customers,” said Carel C. van Helsdingen, founder and CEO of 2getthere.
In the future, the two companies will closely work together to further develop technologies for autonomous transport systems.
“We have developed into a complete systems supplier for automated functions and we are therefore in a perfect position to support 2getthere. We can deliver electric drivelines, solutions for sensor technology, high performance computing, and actuators for all levels of automated applications,” explained Mr Scheider.
Conversely, ZF will also benefit from the vast field experience of the Dutch company and its extensive engineering and software competences when it comes to configuring and implementing complete autonomous transport systems.
2getthere’s engineering and software development teams in Utrecht are expected to grow significantly over the next years, approximately doubling the current 60 employees.
