ZF Lifetec, Wernher-von-Braun-Straße 1�, Aschau a.Inn (2026)

24/09/2026

Different Bodies. Different Kinematics. Different Loads.
A crash does not affect every occupant equally.
Whether you're:
🔹 Young or old
🔹 Tall or short
🔹 Heavier or lighter
🔹 Broad-shouldered or slim
Every person is different. They experience different accelerations. They interact with seat belts and airbags at different moments and with different intensities. Head, chest, and pelvis are exposed to different loads.

And that is exactly where real protection is determined.

Yet vehicle safety development still relies heavily on anthropometric test devices (ATDs), commonly known as crash test dummies. The challenge: no single dummy can represent the full diversity of today's vehicle occupants.

That is why we are working on adaptive safety and restraint systems that better reflect this reality:

✅ Airbag concepts that recognize different seat settings and detect variations in seating posture.
✅ Intelligent restraint system control that recognizes occupant characteristics and adapts how forces are managed.
✅ Sensor-based systems that detect how a person is seated before and during a crash and respond accordingly.

This is not about adding complexity. It is about closing a gap: between standardized test assumptions and the real loads experienced by real people in a crash.

Because safety is not decided in the average – but in the deviations.

10/09/2026

A Legacy of Protection with a Clear Purpose
Our technologies are built to be trusted. At ZF LIFETEC, saving lives with technology is our mission.

From airbags and seat belts to steering wheels, sensors, and intelligent restraint systems, we develop technologies that help protect vehicle occupants when every millisecond matters.

Safety is not defined by a single component. It is created by systems working together in the moments people hope never happen.
This understanding has been shaped over decades. With a passive safety heritage dating back to REPA in 1961, we continue to build on our engineering legacy through increasingly connected and adaptive restraint technologies.

While these systems have become more sophisticated and intelligent, our objective remains unchanged: reducing injury risk and helping protect people inside the vehicle.

21/08/2026

Most crashes are not high-speed events

While severe crashes often attract the most attention, the vast majority of real-world accidents occur at lower speeds. In fact, crashes below 35 km/h account for more than 90% of all accidents with injured occupants. Due to their high frequency, they are also responsible for a significant share of moderate and serious injuries.

Recognizing this challenge, Euro NCAP has already started to place greater emphasis on low-speed crash scenarios in its 2026 rating protocols. At the same time, demographic change is bringing additional focus to this area. As more people remain active and mobile later in life, age-related vulnerability is becoming an increasingly important consideration, making the reduction of injury severity in common crash scenarios more critical than ever.

At ZF LIFETEC, we have been addressing this challenge for years through our Advanced Occupant Safety approach. By combining switchable load limiters (SLL), multi-stage airbag systems, intelligent occupant sensing and advanced restraint technologies, we can adapt protection strategies more precisely to the specific crash situation and occupant characteristics.

Building on the significant progress already achieved in vehicle safety, the next step is to address additionally the reduction of injuries in the low-speed crashes that occur most frequently in everyday traffic.

19/08/2026

Click.
The moment we enter our car, fasten our seat belts across our shoulder, and hear that familiar click – for us, it’s routine; for our safety, it’s essential. What seems like a simple, everyday action is, in fact, the work of an invisible hero: the seat belt tongue locking securely into the buckle.

Small and often overlooked, but it becomes crucial when it really matters. In the split second when the belt engages, the tongue takes on responsibility for our lives. Behind that simple “click” lies sophisticated technology and engineering expertise.

Under extreme conditions, this unassuming component is exposed to immense loads – forces from the lap belt, forces from the shoulder belt, forces from bending and torsion, and forces at the moment of impact. A modern seat belt tongue must withstand loads of up to 20 kN – roughly equivalent to the weight of a passenger car.

The seat belt tongue: hidden, understated, and a true champion of vehicle safety.

17/08/2026

Are you really wearing your seat belt correctly?
A latched buckle does not necessarily mean a seat belt is properly positioned.
While modern seat belt reminder systems can detect whether a buckle is fastened, they cannot determine whether the seat belt is routed correctly across the occupant's body and able to provide optimal protection.

At the same time, in-cabin cameras are becoming increasingly important for occupant monitoring. Yet reliable seat belt detection remains a challenge. Clothing, occupant posture, and changing lighting conditions can make it difficult for camera systems to distinguish the belt from its surroundings.

💡At ZF LIFETEC, we addressed this challenge at its source: the seat belt itself.

Our engineers developed the Infrared Belt, a seat belt webbing with an integrated infrared signature. By incorporating specific spectral properties into the webbing, we create a distinct infrared pattern that helps in-cabin cameras identify the seat belt more reliably and differentiate it from clothing and other interior elements.

As a result, camera-based occupant monitoring systems can detect the belt path more accurately and better assess whether the seat belt is correctly positioned across the occupant's torso.

The Infrared Belt is our next step toward intelligent occupant protection.

12/08/2026

A Holistic Approach to Real-Life Safety
At ZF LIFETEC, we develop safety solutions not just for the laboratory or standardized test conditions, but for the realities of the road.

Real-world accidents rarely follow a predefined pattern. Variations in occupant age, gender, body size, seating position, vehicle environment, and crash configuration continuously challenge modern safety systems.

That is why, together with our customers, we take a holistic approach to passive safety. By intelligently integrating seat belts, airbags, and steering wheels, we create coordinated protection systems designed to address real-world challenges. Working closely with vehicle manufacturers, we combine advanced technologies, system expertise, and global engineering capabilities to develop solutions tailored to the needs of modern vehicles and their occupants.

Using cutting-edge simulations, innovative testing methods, and insights from real-world crash scenarios, we translate real-life data directly into product development.

Our goal is Real-Life Safety. Because safety proves its value not in the laboratory, but in the moments that matter most on the road.

31/07/2026

From Human Crash Experiments to Digital Twins
As part of our journey through 65 years of passive safety, from REPA to ZF LIFETEC, we're looking back at how testing has evolved over the decades and helped shape the technologies that protect millions of vehicle occupants today.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, our safety pioneers demonstrated remarkable courage. Wolf-Dieter Klink, son of REPA founder Erich Klink, and test driver Wolfgang Paul conducted crash self-tests to gain a better understanding of occupant behavior during collisions. At the time, these tests were carried out using production vehicles on the company grounds in Lindach and laid an important foundation for the further development of occupant restraint systems.

The completion of the REPA impact facility in 1974 marked the beginning of a new era. For the first time, crash tests and dynamic sled tests could be conducted systematically and analyzed using advanced measurement technology, crash test dummies, and high-speed cameras. Over the following decades, this evolved into a highly professional testing environment closely linked to major milestones such as the automatic seat belt, the seat belt pretensioner, and the start of serial airbag production in the 1980s.

Today, ZF LIFETEC conducts more than 50 dynamic tests every day worldwide. Across our global test and technology centers, seat belts systems, Inflatable restraint systems, and steering wheels systems are tested under extreme conditions and increasingly complemented by virtual simulation, enabling faster development and even more effective safety solutions.

From the first crash tests to digital twins, one thing has remained unchanged over the past 65 years: our commitment to saving lives with tech.

Stay tuned for more stories from our history.

24/07/2026

Making a lifesaver visible
A seat belt can only provide its full protective effect when worn correctly. But how can vehicle safety systems reliably determine whether that is actually the case?

Our engineers at ZF LIFETEC have developed the new Infrared Belt – a seat belt with an integrated infrared signature that enables in-cabin cameras to reliably detect the belt position, independent of clothing, lighting conditions, or the vehicle environment. This helps vehicle manufacturers improve occupant detection and meet evolving safety requirements.

Since July 7, 2026, EU Regulation 2023/4523 has required new vehicle types in Europe to be equipped with in-cabin camera systems that help detect driver distraction and improve road safety. As camera-based monitoring gains importance, reliable camera data is essential for ensuring accurate system performance. The Infrared Belt supports this by enabling in-cabin cameras to identify the seat belt position more accurately and reliably.

Series production of our Infrared Belt is scheduled to begin in August 2026, covering all seating positions, including rear seats.

21/07/2026

From REPA to ZF LIFETEC: 65 Years of Passive Safety
In 1961, Erich Klink founded REPA in Lindach with just seven employees. What started as a small company became the foundation for 65 years of innovation in passive safety and has evolved into today's ZF LIFETEC – a global company with around 34,000 employees dedicated to protecting vehicle occupants around the world.

From the early development and manufacturing of restraint systems to today's advanced occupant protection technologies, passive safety has evolved significantly over the decades. What began with mechanical components has developed into sophisticated systems that integrate seat belts, airbags, steering wheels, sensors, and intelligent safety technologies.

Our journey has spanned REPA, TRW, ZF, and now ZF LIFETEC. Throughout this evolution, one goal has remained the same: saving lives with technology.

65 years after REPA's founding, it's a good opportunity to reflect on where the journey began and the innovations that have shaped it along the way. Therefore, over the coming weeks, we'll share more stories from our history and insights into the evolution of passive safety.
More to come. Stay tuned.

16/07/2026

When Seats Recline, Crash Physics Change
As vehicle interiors evolve, seating positions change – and so does crash behavior. Comfort seats with a strong angle change biomechanical and kinematic parameters – classic restraint concepts reach their limits here.
Therefore, highly reclined seats require a new approach to occupant protection.

At ZF LIFETEC, we offer an advanced solution: Four networked airbags, orchestrated by adaptive sensor technology and real-time data fusion.

✅The Seat Ramp Airbag – limits submarining under the lap belt and stabilizes the pelvis
✅The Dual Contour Knee Airbag – guides knees and thighs adaptively depending on seating position
✅The Active Heel Airbag – re-couples feet and legs to the vehicle floor and adds foot and ankle protection
✅Dual Contour Airbag (driver & passenger) – adapts its volume situationally to head and upper-body position

All modules are series-ready from 2028.

We’ve summarized more insights in our latest press release – link in the first comment.

ZF Lifetec

24/09/2026

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21/08/2026

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