ZF‘s newest commercial vehicle transmission, TraXon, will make its official Australian debut at the Brisbane Truck Show in May.

TraXon, an automatic transmission system for modern trucks, is ZF‘s successor to its groundbreaking ASTronic AMT, which will continue in production for the foreseeable future. TraXon builds on the advances in software and computing power that have occurred since the introduction of the ASTronic, with an eye toward increasing safety, comfort and control for the driver.

With a modular design – the first in the world – TraXon meets the commercial vehicle market‘s requirements for a versatile, flexible solution.

This modular design enables the basic transmission to be combined with various setting-off and shift modules. This makes the transmission more economical in practice, giving manufacturers and operators the best possible flexibility for every application as well as increasing driver comfort.

Its compact, robust design and the highest transmission efficiency in its category make TraXon the new standard in terms of cost-effectiveness.

Thanks to this robustness, the new TraXon transmission system not only keeps operating costs down, it also keep service costs over its entire lifetime particularly low.

Furthermore, it features ZF‘s innovative electronics, including software, combining the predictive shifting strategy, PreVision GPS, as well as a rolling and rock-the- vehicle-free function.

Frederik Staedtler, global head of ZF‘s commercial vehicle operations, was quoted as saying that while ZF see the engine as the heart of a truck, today the automated transmission is the brains of the truck.

Predictive cruise control is a feature of the new transmission, and TraXon software ties in with GPS navigational systems to accurately track and predict upcoming terrain features, then adjust gear selection and shift patterns as well as throttle input to manage them effectively.

Offering 12 or 16 forward gears and up to four reverse gears, TraXon is suitable for torque requirements of up to 3,400Nm and can be linked to five modules.

TraXon is a transmission for diverse functions – from long-distance transport to construction site applications.

For more information on TraXon, go to www.zf.com/traxon.