TRW hires 650 for self-driving car tech - Automobilwoche

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German car parts maker ZF Friedrichshafen plans to strengthen its position in technology for self-driving cars after buying U.S.-based TRW Automotive Holdings, ZF's chief executive told a newspaper.

Stefan Sommer told car industry weekly Automobilwoche that TRW had recruited more than 650 engineers and technicians worldwide over three years, mainly to develop radar and camera systems.

Privately held ZF agreed in September to buy TRW in a $12 billion deal that paves the way for a new global automotive supply powerhouse to rival Robert Bosch and will increase ZF's exposure to sensors and electronic components.

Sommer said ZF expected hundreds of millions of euros in savings in procurement in the next three years, after analysing both companies' range of suppliers.

"To combine them, to focus them and to use that leverage is what our customers expect and it is one of our priorities," he told the publication.

He added that the headquarters of the company would remain in the German city of Friedrichshafen after the takeover, which is expected to complete in the first half of this year, while TRW's headquarters in Michigan would be expanded.

(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Dale Hudson)