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The current environmental situation in urban areas is demanding new concepts of transportation and innovative vehicle designs. More environmentally-friendly means of transport represent an important feature in local public transport. Improvements in the environmental situation are to be achieved by increased transition from individual transport to public transport on the one hand, and by having more environmentally-friendly buses on the other. Electric drive, whether as diesel, hybrid or zero-emission drive, has a central role to play in this. This report gives a survey of their estimated technical characteristics and possible applications.

Major manufacturers of farm tractors and powertrain components are addressing significant attention to farmers’ needs to reduce investment and operating costs, and to improve field performance of their equipment. Particular emphasis has been directed to engines and transmissions. And now, based on many years experience with farmers and manufacturers worldwide, several patented innovations have been developed by Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen AG into a new family of front-driven, steerable axles. This axle family provides vehicle designers with several unique features and options that optimize powertrain costs with state-of-art technology. At the same time, the end user will benefit from improved maneuverability, improved reliability, and improved serviceability.

Several highly technical skills are required to design and develop a self-propelled vehicle. One such skill is to design or select the appropriate size drive train. The more accurately this can be accomplished, the more significant will be the savings in development cost. Various references are available on the theoretical approach; however, a significant unknown is the relationship to practical applications. Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen AG has over many years of experience developed a computer program that can reliably assess the service life of power train designs. The reliability of this approach has been proven by both vehicle manufacturers and end users.