Dirk Bald and Wilhelm Rehm (ZF) with Anguo Yang (Anhui Forklift Group)

Anhui HELI and ZF Friedrichshafen have agreed to establish a joint venture company. The company is intended to create a leading global R&D, manufacture, assembly and sales base for industrial vehicles and become an advanced high-end materials handling transmission system supplier.

Germany's ZF Friedrichshafen is a global 500 company and one of the three largest transmission manufacturers. It is a market leader in driveline and chassis technology.

The collaboration between the parties will facilitate the industrial upgrade and technical progress of Chinese industrial vehicles, especially in the areas of high-end transmission systems. For HELI, this will enhance the core competitiveness of its product range. The deal will, meanwhile, allow ZF to grow its share of the industrial vehicle parts market.

Wilhelm Rehm, ZF group director, says that HELI has strong capacity in terms of whole machine manufacturing, and ZF has the leading technology in transmission and chassis production. The collaboration of both parties will create more competitive products.

Bai Xue, general manager of HELI, believes the collaboration will bring advantages to both parties and help HELI further upgrade its products.

Anhui Heli claims to be China's leading forklift manufacturer and has been ranked in the top 10 global suppliers.

ZF Friedrichshafen AG was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Friedrichshafen, Germany. It already has a strategic partnership for the production of assistance systems and autonomous driving functions for passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and off-highway applications. ZF recently announced an initiative with Baidu for a production-ready AI autonomous vehicle platform designed for China.