The German company known for supplying automatic and manual transmissions to automakers such as BMW and Audi is ZF Friedrichshafen.
ZF Friedrichshafen AG, commonly known as ZF Group, is headquartered in Friedrichshafen, Baden-Württemberg. Its name derives from Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen, meaning “Friedrichshafen gear factory.” The company began in 1915 as a Zeppelin-related manufacturer of gears for airships before expanding into automotive technology.
ZF makes automatic, manual, automated-manual, and specialized transmissions, along with chassis, steering, axle, braking, and electronic systems. Its transmissions have been used by many major manufacturers. BMW became an important ZF customer decades ago, and ZF’s six-speed and later eight-speed automatics became especially prominent in passenger cars.
Getrag is the tempting alternative because it is also a German transmission specialist, particularly associated with manual and dual-clutch gearboxes. Continental and Bosch are major automotive suppliers too, but they are not the company identified by this transmission-supplier description. ZF is now generally branded simply as ZF Group.