Automotive parts supplier ZF Friedrichshafen has received an order to supply its advanced driveline and chassis technology to 282 new buses in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
The city has also ordered steering systems from ZF Lenksysteme for its buses.
This new order follows the driveline and chassis technology order from the Moscow public transport authority, Mosgortrans, for 565 public transport vehicles.
As part of this deal, Russian manufacturers LiAZ and Volgabus will use ZF-EcoLife quiet automatic transmission technology in their buses. The automatic ZF-EcoLife 6-speed transmission is said to reduce the engine speed in buses under all operating conditions. It features TopoDyn Life - the shifting program which changes the transmission into a higher gear at the earliest opportunity. Vehicles equipped with EcoLife instead of its predecessor, Ecomat, consume up to 10% less fuel, the company said.
Additionally, all the 282 new buses will have ZF chassis technology including, the AV 132 low-floor driven axle and the ZF RL 85 front axle system. The AV 132 low-floor driven axle is designed to provide a high level of driving safety, as well as maximum comfort.
In addition, maneuverability and precision on the roads are provided for by the compact Servocom ball and nut power steering system from ZF Lenksysteme.
ZF commercial vehicle technology division board of management member Rolf Lutz said: "With this, EcoLife, currently our most advanced bus transmission, will eventually also be installed for the first time on a large scale in vehicles produced by local Russian manufacturers - more precisely in 183 solobuses from LiAZ and 99 articulated buses from Volgabus".
All the buses will be used by at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sotschi. The city government is planning to order 100 vehicles that are equipped with modern transmission systems from ZF.
