Global EV firm, Lotus has integrated the cubiX software of German Tier 1 supplier ZF in its Lotus Electre e-SUV to enhance driving experience.
The cubiX software controls all chassis systems and ensures harmonious acceleration and braking, precise steering, and balanced damping.
The software has been developed at multiple ZF sites globally (Germany, Czech Republic, Romania, UK, India, and China), the application project driven out of Region Asia Pacific.
In the beginning of 2023, the first production vehicles with the new ZF cubiX software have been rolling on the roads: the Lotus Eletre electric SUV from the Geely Group has been delivered to the first customers since February.
From the middle of the year, the vehicle will be available in Europe. ZF’s software controls all chassis functions such as brakes, front and rear axle steering, and active roll stabilisers as well as the electric drive of the new sports car. Further production start-ups of the innovative ZF software will follow from 2023.
Andre Engelke, Head of Vehicle Motion Control System House at ZF said, “With the series premiere of our cubiX software, we impressively demonstrate our system competence for vehicle dynamics of software-defined vehicles. We can harmoniously control the entire longitudinal, lateral and vertical dynamics of the vehicle according to Lotus’ specifications. The system know-how from the entire ZF Group meets decades of experience in the fields of braking and steering systems, active dampers, and driveline technology.”
The cubiX software optimises driving behaviour with a view to comfort, dynamics and efficiency and also forms the basis for progressive driver assistance systems. As ZF’s first pure software product, cubiX offers another decisive advantage: The platform is compatible with various actuators such as dampers, brakes or rear-axle steering – regardless of the manufacturer or the specific design. This gives manufacturers the flexibility to implement different model series with one and the same control platform without additional integration effort.
The new electrical and electric vehicle architectures bundle all the software for a specific functional area of the car – known as the domain – on a central control unit.
“This overarching control saves vehicle manufacturers effort as well as compromises in fine-tuning and driving dynamics in terms of vehicle performance, comfort and efficiency. At the same time, it gives them the chance to combine complex assistance systems. With cubiX, we have such software that can be perfectly integrated into the new architectures,” concluded Engelke.