Due to the 2008 financial crisis ZF took a €250 million loan from the state-owned KfW Bank and embarked on a company-wide restructure that shut down unprofitable locations, particularly outside Germany, the total number of employees was reduced from 63,000 to 59,000 worldwide.

[8] CEO Hans-Georg Härter stated that the combined effects of the loan and restructuring will eliminate the need for further employee reduction.

[9] On 16 September 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported that ZF agreed to acquire TRW Automotive Holdings for $13.5 billion.

[12] In September 2020, ZF Friedrichshafen AG entered a partnership with Aeva Inc. to put LIDAR sensors for self-driving vehicles, into production.

[13] Some of the most important milestones: ZF Friedrichshafen manufactures automatic and manual transmissions for cars, trucks, buses and construction equipment; chassis components (ball joints, tie rods, cross-axis joints, stabiliser bars, control arms); shock absorbers and suspension struts; electronic damping systems including Continuous Damping Control (CDC), Active Roll Stabilization (ARS); clutches; torque converters; differentials; axle drives; and industrial drives.

Products: Automated, manual, and powershift transmissions, drive components such as clutches and electric drives, ADAS technology including automated, camera and radar-based comfort and safety functions for trucks and buses, chassis systems, chassis components, and steering systems for vehicles.

With approximately 200 facilities and 66,100 employees across 26 countries, TRW Automotive was acquired by ZF Friedrichshafen in 2015 and now forms the Active & Passive Safety Technology division.

[34] ZF Group operates globally, with Europe as its primary market, followed by the Asia-Pacific region, North and South America and Middle East & Africa.[promotion?]

The manufacturing base in Darlaston supplies chassis components to the British automotive industry, including Jaguar, BMW, and Land Rover.

[35] In the NAFTA region, ZF operates 16 locations, including an R&D center near Detroit and a manufacturing plant in Laurens County, South Carolina, which began production in 2013.

[citation needed] ZF's presence in India includes joint ventures and license partnerships spanning over three decades.