Business Unit NewTech
Industrial solutions for alternative drives
The focus of the Business Unit NewTech is on electric drives and battery storage systems as well as hybrid and flexible charging solutions. The team is set up on an interdisciplinary basis. The “NewTechies” are spread across several locations: the new campus in Cologne forms the organizational center. The subsidiary Futavis in Aachen is the central battery management unit. Urban Mobility Systems (UMS), acquired in 2025, develops and implements practical electric drive solutions in Oss in the Netherlands. The batteries are produced at the plant in Ulm. This gives the Unit NewTech a strong technological foundation and excellent conditions to develop into one of the leading providers of electrification solutions for medium-sized and larger OEMs.
Although demand for alternative drives in 2025 fell short of our expectations, we remain optimistic that this future market will pick up momentum in the foreseeable future. The question is not whether alternative drives will gain acceptance in the off-highway sector, but when, in which applications and where first. Even now, increasing regulatory requirements, changing customer needs and the upcoming decarbonization of the off-highway segment are driving noticeably growing interest in electric and hybrid drives. At the same time, investment decisions are currently only being made cautiously. Reasons for this include the economic situation, high system costs and the charging and energy infrastructure, which is not yet available nationwide. Nevertheless, the market is on the move, and the positive response to product presentations by the Business Unit NewTech at trade fairs such as bauma or Agritechnica shows that we are on the right track.
Technological leap with UMS
We are consistently continuing to invest in building NewTech know-how. The acquisition of Dutch innovation leader for battery-electric off-highway drives UMS in June 2025 is a clear signal to the market that DEUTZ is establishing itself as an important player in this segment. The acquisition gives us a technological leap in e-systems and hybridization and significantly accelerates research and development of alternative drives at NewTech.
UMS has excellent technical expertise in the electrification of construction machinery and material handling applications. This is not just theory: the company has already successfully electrified more than 200 machines, including excavators, wheel loaders and cranes, and has developed solutions that go far beyond pilot projects; it has a high order backlog and renowned customers.
The solutions from UMS dispel the prejudice that electric drives are only suitable for small engines in low power classes – they demonstrate in practice that applications in the power range well above 100 kW can be electrified. The electrification kits from UMS allow easy integration into the existing engine compartment without complex, cost-intensive new machine designs. This enables both installation in new machines on existing assembly lines and immediate retrofitting.
The hybrid solutions from UMS are also highly innovative. A feasibility study for defense applications is currently underway. Specifically, it is about equipping military vehicles with a hybrid solution.
For DEUTZ, UMS is far more than a portfolio add-on: the acquisition provides the technological substance and practical experience needed to bring electrification into industrial implementation and opens up access to new customers for us. For UMS, DEUTZ solves a structural problem. As a scale-up, it had reached its limits in industrialization, scaling and service. DEUTZ contributes precisely these capabilities: production and quality processes, global service capability and a robust industrial backbone. UMS remains rooted with its team in Oss (Netherlands) and is fully integrated into the Business Unit NewTech as a development and application competence center for electric systems.
System architecture for electric and hybrid applications
The NewTech product portfolio follows a clear principle: system thinking instead of component logic. Customer needs are clearly the main focus. All solutions are flexibly adapted to the respective requirements and applications. These include electric drive units, modular battery systems including battery management software, charging and safety concepts, and hybrid architectures, for example in the form of range extender solutions.
Hybridization is always considered whenever electric drives reach their limits in terms of range, availability or infrastructure. In general, NewTech is driving forward the development of system architecture, including with more powerful high-voltage platforms, faster DC charging concepts and modular battery systems that also enable swap-battery approaches for larger machines.
Hydrogen drives: we are ready to go
Hydrogen drives remain a topic, but have currently moved somewhat into the background. With the TCG 7.8 H2, the Business Unit offers a commercially usable hydrogen combustion engine. In Beijing, the first power generators with these DEUTZ H2 engines went into operation as early as 2024. However, the market is subdued because reliable legislative frameworks are lacking, the infrastructure is missing and costs are high. NewTech aligns its activities with real demand, so the topic is in a holding pattern. Here too the following applies: if the market picks up, the Business Unit is H2-ready and can immediately provide field-proven solutions.
A strong network
In its market activities, the Business Unit benefits from 161 years of DEUTZ. The strong image, credibility and industrial competence of DEUTZ help the NewTechies to get into discussions with major OEMs. In the market, NewTech is not perceived as a start-up, but as a reliable partner with highly innovative solutions. Close collaboration with the Business Units Engines, Energy, Defense and Service also helps to score points with customers. The global service network and the scaling and industrialization potential alone are real assets for (potential) customers. Just one example: DEUTZ can retrofit entire fleets with electric or hybrid drives and at the same time supply the system as a preassembled kit to the OEM’s production line to enable scaling. There are already suitable solutions in service as well: the DEUTZ service tool SERDIA works for both combustion engines and e-systems.
Conversely, DEUTZ and its Business Units benefit from NewTech: the Unit opens up new customer groups, contacts and applications. This networking strengthens the overall portfolio and is a key component of the Dual+ strategy, with which DEUTZ is positioning itself more broadly and more resiliently.
NewTech stands for a long-term transformation path. Electrification, hybridization and alternative drives will gradually become established in the off-highway sector over the coming years. With its clear organizational setup, the integration of UMS and its focus on industrialization and market readiness, the Business Unit NewTech is actively shaping this transformation.
INTERVIEW
What was the most important step for NewTech in 2025?
Bert van Hasselt, Head of Business Unit NewTech: Clearly the acquisition of UMS. UMS is the next step in the development of the NewTech business. With this purchase, we are not only expanding our product portfolio, but also gaining access to a completely new customer segment, both in construction and in material handling applications, and potentially in the agricultural segment.
Why is electrification in the off-highway sector so demanding?
Jan Rénevier, Senior Manager, Business Development NewTech: Because the applications differ. There is no off-the-shelf solution. Systems have to be matched very precisely to operating profiles, energy requirements and infrastructure. That is our strength.
How realistic is the market ramp-up?
Bert van Hasselt: The market is coming. The question is not if, but when and where.
How does the Business Unit NewTech benefit from DEUTZ, and vice versa?
Jan Rénevier: DEUTZ is very well established in the diesel engine market. The capabilities and the radiance of the DEUTZ brand help us in our market work. Our customers could probably also electrify their machines with a start-up company, but not in large quantities, not industrialized, not with a high quality standard, not with the power and not with the global service network that DEUTZ brings. We benefit from the other Business Units, just as the other Business Units benefit from us, because we open doors to new applications and customer groups.