ZF TraXon transmission: TraXon 2, TraXon 2 Coach with Intarder and TraXon 2 Hybrid

TraXon is ZF Friedrichshafen’s automated manual transmission system for heavy-duty commercial vehicles, which ZF describes as a “modular transmission system”. ZF launched it in 2014, builds it at plants in Germany, China and Brazil, and announced on 25 February 2026 that the 1.5 millionth unit had come off the assembly line. Its successor, TraXon 2, is a 12-speed automated manual transmission for heavy trucks and coaches that ZF says is already in production; a coach version can be combined with ZF’s Intarder retarder, and a hybrid version, the TraXon 2 Hybrid, was in development and testing in 2026.

Status as of 9 November 2026. Read that day: ZF’s press releases of 25 February 2026 on the 1.5 million TraXon units and of 16 April 2026 on the TraXon 2 Hybrid, and its press release of 9 September 2026 on the TraXon 2 with Intarder in the Hino S’elega coach.

What ZF calls TraXon

ZF’s release of 25 February 2026 calls TraXon “ZF’s automated manual transmission system for heavy-duty commercial vehicles” and states that it “has surpassed 1.5 million units since 2014 launch”. The TraXon is “Manufactured across ZF’s network of plants in Germany, China and Brazil”. ZF’s release of 9 September 2026 speaks of “more than 1.5 million systems sold globally” and calls TraXon 2 “the latest generation of the AMT family for heavy-duty trucks and coaches”.

How the EU defines an automated manual transmission, and the gear count and spread ZF gives for the 12-speed TraXon, are set out in truck gearbox types; how an automated manual changes gear, and how gearbox losses enter the CO2 figure of a truck, in automated manual transmissions.

TraXon 2

ZF’s release of 25 February 2026 describes the TraXon 2’s equipment: “the TraXon 2 is equipped with next generation microprocessors, integrated security modules and thorough functional software upgrades, as well as updated in-house designed and manufactured ECU and shift actuators.” The release of 9 September 2026 describes it as a “12-speed AMT” whose ECU and shift actuators “enable optimized gear selection and precise shifting performance”, and adds “A comprehensive software package and brake interaction functions”. ZF’s Christian Feldhaus, Vice President of the Transmissions & Hybrids product segment, describes TraXon 2 as “a transmission that delivers even faster shifting, enhanced digital integration and improved fuel economy”.

For fuel, the release of 9 September 2026 gives one figure: “Depending on the application and operating conditions, ZF estimates that TraXon 2 can reduce fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions by up to 1.7 percent compared with the former TraXon generation.” The release of 25 February 2026 names the applications as “heavy-duty truck and coach applications as well as special applications such as medium-to-heavy-duty mobile cranes”.

TraXon 2 Coach and the Intarder

For coaches, ZF writes, “TraXon 2 can be combined with ZF’s Intarder, a hydrodynamic retarder integrated into the transmission.” ZF states that the Intarder is “Designed for applications with limited installation space”, that it “provides powerful, wear-free auxiliary braking independently of engine speed”, and that it supports stable deceleration on long downhill sections and on the highway. By ZF’s figure, it reduces “the use of the service brakes by up to 90 percent”, which ZF links to lower brake dust emissions. Retarders, engine brakes and the rules on endurance braking are described in retarders and engine braking; power take-offs and where they are mounted, in power take-offs.

ZF’s release of 9 September 2026 announced the TraXon 2 Coach with integrated Intarder in the new Hino S’elega premium touring coach in Japan, “the first HINO application of ZF’s TraXon 2 Coach solution”. ZF also supplies the S’elega’s electronic braking system, damping control, air suspension and short-range radar sensors, and states that “Through J-Bus, the joint venture between HINO and ISUZU, ZF’s commercial vehicle technologies used in the new HINO S’elega are also applied in the ISUZU Gala.”

TraXon 2 Hybrid

The TraXon 2 Hybrid adds an electric motor to the TraXon 2. ZF’s release of 16 April 2026 gives its layout and output: “The TraXon 2 Hybrid integrates an in-house developed electric motor and operates at 600 to 800 volts with 190 kW continuous power and higher peak power.” The motor sits “in the P2 layout between the clutch and transmission”, which “enables pure electric operation up to the 12th gear and enables regenerative braking”. ZF gives no figure for the peak power.

ZF writes that its “test evaluations confirmed that the system supports substantial CO2 reductions in long-haul and distribution applications when operated with consistent recharging”, and that this “supports the European fleet emissions targets for 2030”. VECTO, the simulation tool those figures come from, is described in what is VECTO, and the 2030 targets in EU CO2 standards for trucks and buses. The release also states that “ZF also supports the call for the classification of PHEV trucks within European toll systems, including total weight compensation, to be similar to what is already implemented for electric trucks.” According to ZF, the hybrid uses parts of its e-mobility platform, which includes its CeTrax 2 central drive and AxTrax 2 e-axles.

Trucks and coaches on this site with a TraXon

These model pages name a TraXon gearbox from their makers’ documents:

• DAF XD, DAF XF, DAF XG and DAF XG+: a 12-speed TraXon automated gearbox, standard on the XF, XG and XG+ and paired with the MX-11 engine on the XD.
• Iveco S-Way and Iveco X-Way: a 12-speed TRAXON Gen2 by ZF in Iveco’s releases of 2023; Iveco T-Way: the Traxon 2, 12-speed, for model year 2024. Iveco’s S-Way launch release of 2019 and its T-Way launch release of 2021 call the automated gearbox Hi-Tronix.
• MAN TGX: the TraXon Torque with torque converter clutch in MAN’s 250-tonne heavy-duty range; the other TGX gearboxes carry MAN’s TipMatic name.
• Neoplan Tourliner: a “MAN TipMatic® automated ZF TraXon 12-speed gearbox” in one delivered Tourliner P20.
• Mercedes-Benz Tourismo, Setra ComfortClass and Setra TopClass: the ZF TraXon 2 Coach.
• Temsa Maraton: a ZF Traxon automated gearbox, 12 forward and 1 reverse gear, with the 330 kW DAF MX11.
• Tatra Phoenix: primarily ZF TraXon automated gearboxes, with an Allison automatic on request.
• Sitrak C7H: a ZF TraXon automated gearbox among the gearboxes in the 2020 operator’s manual.