Germany's ZF Friedrichshafen is taking a 60% stake in Dutch company 2getthere. With this investment, ZF Friedrichshafen aims to increase its presence in the Mobility as a Service market and automated guided vehicle (AGV) market.
ZF Friedrichshafen is a German supplier of drive and chassis technology operating worldwide. The company says it provides solutions for the 'mobility of the future'. These include solutions for the automotive industry, for example, as well as technology for the rail, shipping, aviation and mechanical engineering sectors.
Years of experience with autonomous vehicles
2getthere is a originally Dutch company that has offices in San Francisco, Dubai and Singapore in addition to its headquarters in Utrecht. The company provides automated transport systems and is known, among other things, for the ParkShuttle connection between the Kralingse Zoom metro station in Rotterdam and the Rivium business park in Capelle aan den IJssel. This line was set up in 1999. In early 2018, 2getthere announced that the line has carried a total of over six million passengers; it is estimated that around 2,400 passengers use the ParkShuttle every day.
At the beginning of 2018, it was announced that the ParkShuttle line will be expanded. Whereas the vehicles previously ran exclusively on a route closed to other traffic, the route will now be extended to include a route partly on public roads. This new route should be available from 2020 and runs to a station near the Van Brienenoord Bridge, where passengers can transfer to the Waterbus. This Waterbus connects (Alblasserdam, Dordrecht, Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Papendrecht, Sliedrecht and Zwijndrecht) with Rotterdam. The ParkShuttle connects the Waterbus to the Rotterdam metro network.
Brussels Airport
In addition, 2getthere signed several deals in early 2018 to roll out autonomous shuttle services. For example, the company will set up such a service at Brussels Airport, transporting passengers fully autonomously on public roads between the airport and parking facilities. This will make Brussels Airport the first European airport to deploy autonomous shuttles on public roads.
The Dutch company also struck a deal with Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) and SMRT Services to roll out its Group Rapid Transit (GRT) vehicles - as 2getthere's autonomous vehicles are called - at the NTU Smart Campus in Singapore. The autonomous vehicles will be deployed on campus from this year and integrated into the university's existing transport network.
'Three decades of experience'
"2getthere has more than three decades of experience in the autonomous passenger vehicle market, as well as unique software and technical competences. This acquisition supports our strategy to become a leading supplier of autonomous transport systems in the fast-growing new mobility market," explains Wolf-Henning Scheider, Chairman of the Board at ZF Friedrichshafen.
The investment in 2getthere is part of a broader series of investments aimed at strengthening ZF Friedrichshafen's presence in growth markets such as Mobility-as-a-Service, autonomous transport systems and shared vehicles. According to the company, the investment complements previous investments, including the joint venture e.GO MOOVE that the company is establishing with e.GO Mobile. e.GO MOOVE focuses on the production of the e.GO Mover autonomous minibus. ZF Friedrichshafen also previously invested in Transdev, a provider of integrated mobility solutions.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: ZF
Source: 2getthere
