The ZF Lifetec Inflator Capacity and Production Expansion Program Launch Ceremony was held on March 17 at Jingwei Industrial Park in Xi'an Economic and Technological Development Zone.

As ZF's most technologically advanced inflator production facility worldwide and the only one in the Asia-Pacific region, the program will further strengthen the zone's automotive industrial innovation ecosystem and promote quality and efficiency improvements in Xi'an's advanced manufacturing.

ZF's inflator capacity and production expansion program. [Photo/Xi'an Release]

The program, which integrates production and R&D, broke ground in December 2024, with a total investment of 150 million euros ($173.47 million), introducing a complete set of advanced German assembly lines for inflators. Once it reaches full production capacity, it will add an annual output of 4.1 million hybrid inflators and 1.8 million hood-lifter sets. It will also integrate ZF's global technological resources, build a passive safety test laboratory, and focus on the R&D and trial production of a new generation of hybrid inflators.

The launch of the program marks a key step for ZF to further expand its presence in the Chinese market and is the latest achievement in deepening cooperation with the Xi'an Economic and Technological Development Zone.

ZF's factory in Xi'an. [Photo/Xi'an Release]

Manfred Suess, a representative of ZF Lifetec, said, "Over the past 16 years since ZF rooted in Xi'an, every step of our growth – from initial capacity planning to today's large-scale expansion – has been inseparable from the support of Xi'an municipal government and the Xi'an Economic and Technological Development Zone."

He added that the company will continue to optimize production lines, deepen local cooperation, and ensure the new capacity precisely matches demand from both local and global markets.