Automaker ZF to hire 5,000 engineers from India to boost global R&D

ZF Friedrichshafen AG, a German auto component company with a market capitalisation of €32.6 billion, plans to hire over 5,000 engineers in India in order to increase its share of the connected and autonomous technologies adopted by automakers.

In India, the company has already secured a €200 million investment. A fifth of that will go to a Hyderabad-based tech centre that will do a lot of global R&D.

By the end of the decade, the group aims to triple its business in India to €3 billion and expand its sourcing of parts to over €2 billion.

It is aiming for faster growth in India following the Wabco acquisition than in the previous decade. Exports from this location totalled 400 million euros.

The ZF Tech Centre, which opened in 2017, is a software and engineering centre in Hyderabad. It supports all four technology fields of ZF—automated driving, electric mobility, vehicle motion control, and integrated safety.

As of 2027, the ZF Technology Center in India plans to hire 3,000 new employees, bringing the total number of employees to 5,000. By the end of 2028, the company will have hired 5,000 engineers in total, including those in other locations in India.

Systems and software development, function control & algorithm development, and design and simulation in mechanical engineering, mechatronics, and electronics engineering are some of the areas of focus for the centre.

Although Covid-19 has had an impact on current operations in India, the ZF Group has reaffirmed its commitment to the Indian market and committed new investments through its Refresh India four-point strategy.

Product launches, manufacturing, and engineering footprint expansions, hiring, and other developments will all benefit from this new investment across all business domains.

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