Innovation and future mobility requirements go hand in hand, whether it's in the field of electrification, automation, functional networks, or lightweight design. As per recently published annual statistics of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (GPTO), automotive supplier ZF filed 909 new applications. This is a new annual record for the technology company which sees itself in the 10th place in the patent statistic (see company listing below).

ZF says it is working intensively on the mobility of the future. In 2014, the company increased the number of GPTO applications by 28 percent compared to the year before, achieving a new record high of 909 new patents, and thus demonstrating its technological leadership in driveline and chassis technology. Thanks to its variety of patents, the component supplier ZF takes tenth place, just behind vehicle manufacturers such as Volkswagen, Audi, or GM.

The seven major ZF R&D centers in Europe, Asia, and North America are cooperating closely. In 2014 alone, the technology company invested a total of 891 million euros (Rs 6,810 crore) in these centres, underscoring the high importance attributed to research and development.

The predominant part of ZF patents in the last year referred to new transmission concepts for passenger cars, commercial vehicles, as well as for off-road machinery. They include plug-in hybrid applications as well as innovative functional approaches for electronic control units of vehicle systems. The company also filed a very high number of patents on lightweight design technologies as well as individual components and whole packages for future-proof chassis systems.

Top 10 most active patent applicants at the GPTO in 2014:
1 Robert Bosch GmbH D 4,008
2 Schaeffler Technologies GmbH 2,518
3 Siemens AG D 1,806
4 Daimler AG D 1,797
5 Bayerische Motoren Werke AG D 1,464
6 Ford Global Technologies, LLC USA 1,390
7 GM Global Technology Operations, LLC USA 1,080
8 Audi AG D 9609 Volkswagen AG D 943
10 ZF Friedrichshafen AG D 909