China stands out as a rare automotive market still experiencing robust growth, Holdmann said.

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany, July 16 (Xinhua) -- China plays a vital role in the global strategy of the world's leading automotive supplier ZF Group, acting as both a driver of innovation and a hub for collaborative development, according to the group's board member Peter Holdmann.

"For ZF, China is our fitness center," Holdmann said in a recent interview with Xinhua, describing the market as a source of both challenge and progress amid the industry's shift toward electrification and intelligent mobility. "It pushes us to train harder and perform better."

Since entering the Chinese market in the early 1980s, ZF has steadily expanded its footprints. In the past two years alone, it has opened a new R&D center and built or expanded 10 production facilities across the country. Today, nearly one-third of ZF's 161 global manufacturing sites are located there.

China stands out as a rare automotive market still experiencing robust growth, Holdmann said.

He pointed to the rapid pace of research and development, which he calls "China Speed," and emphasized the mutually beneficial partnerships between ZF and local automakers.

"We have many customers in China where we use their innovation speed to accelerate our own, creating a win-win situation," he said.

At ZF's recent Chassis Tech Day held at its headquarters in the southern German city of Friedrichshafen, the company showcased its latest "Chassis 2.0" strategy, highlighting by-wire solutions that have already been adopted by Chinese automakers.

One vehicle on display, developed by Chinese premium EV maker NIO, is the first mass-produced car in China equipped with ZF's full steer-by-wire system.

"We had already worked with NIO before," Holdmann said. Citing mutual trust, he noted that "it is by no means a given that a supplier and a carmaker work as closely and collaboratively as we currently do." He added that two more Chinese automakers have placed production orders for the system.

ZF's partnership with NIO exemplifies the broader integration between the Chinese and German automotive sectors.

Holdmann sees China as a proving ground and first-mover in bringing automotive innovation to the global market. "More and more technologies are now first developed and rolled out in China, and only then brought to Western markets," he said.

He emphasized that ZF's engineering capabilities in China now match those in traditional hubs like Germany and North America -- and in some areas, surpass them in agility.

"We are able to operate with China's speed," he said, calling it both a challenge and an opportunity as the rapid evolution of China's EV market is driving the company to innovate faster and push global upgrades.

Looking ahead, Holdmann expressed strong confidence in the Chinese market.

ZF, he said, will remain committed to its "local for local" strategy -- developing and producing in China for the Chinese and global market -- while continuing to deepen innovation partnerships with local firms.

"In the next years, I believe our growth speed in China will also be faster than in the rest of the world," he noted.