With the US and Europe leading the clampdown on greenhouse gas emissions and pushing for standards that call for further vehicular emissions reductions and improved fuel efficiency, automotive OEMs and suppliers are being forced to innovate and develop technologies to conform to these stringent norms.
Many vehicle manufacturers are looking at vehicle weight reduction as a way to improve fuel efficiency. This works in two ways; firstly, a reduction in vehicle mass translates directly into better fuel mileage as there is less weight to propel. Secondly, a lighter vehicle allows for a smaller engine and thereby better fuel mileage.
One way of reducing a vehicle’s weight is to replace conventional materials like steel with alternative lightweight materials such as aluminium, carbon fibre, advanced high-strength steels, plastics, or a combination of these, resulting in a multi-material approach. Another way of improving fuel efficiency is to work on the vehicle’s powertrains.
Powertrain advancements, too, can contribute significantly towards better fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. One such company involved in developments in driveline technology for passenger cars is Kongsberg Automotive. The company’s passenger car driveline division develops components for manual, automatic and shift-by-wire systems, which it says puts it in a unique position with an overall view of the direction that driveline innovation is headed.
Overall, the market worldwide is more or less evenly matched between automatic and manual transmissions, the supplier says, adding that fuel economy, comfort and price are among the main factors behind developments in automotive transmissions.
“You might think that automatics are taking over, but especially in South Asia and India, with the volume of cars there, they are normally manual due to price and cost for the product. So they are holding back the automatic transmission development, and growth,” says Bo Hansson, the Norwegian company’s Vice President of Research & Development – Driveline.
And talking about markets around the world, there is much emphasis on localisation these days, with countries trying to protect the local manufacturing segment by imposing tariffs and duties on imported components, making it expensive to import finished components or parts. Kongsberg’s approach is to set up production plants at its customer locations.
This has resulted in a global network of driveline system production plants, with facilities in India, China, Brazil, Europe and Mexico. The company believes a global presence is essential to be able to supply the OEMs’ global platforms. This global presence has also helped the supplier avoid being hit hard by the slowdown in Europe.
“So far we have not seen much of a slowdown, to be honest. In terms of sales, we are pretty aligned with our plans,” Hansson tells Megatrends.
Automated manual transmissions (AMT) are fast gaining interest in emerging markets, and AMT technology is widely regarded as the best technology for markets such as India, where automatic transmissions are not cost effective. AMT growth is aided by the fact that AMT and manual transmissions are fairly similar, with their use being defined by customer preferences.
One particular area that Kongsberg focuses on for AMTs is the shift mechanism. “In India we see growth that is not only driven by environmental reasons. The income level is lower, so fuel economy and price very much dictate the kind of car that people buy. And an AMT has better fuel economy performance than an automatic transmission,” says Hansson.
Among its range of products, Kongsberg develops efficient actuation solutions for AMT systems. While most of the current solutions are electro-hydraulic, the company believes that in the long run, the market will shift focus towards electro-mechanic solutions, and Kongsberg is focusing on this area accordingly.
But how much of a contribution can transmissions, specifically, make with regard to fuel efficiency and emissions reductions? Kongsberg’s Hansson believes that transmissions can make a significant difference to fuel mileage, although quantifying this is a challenge.
AMT’s contribution towards fuel efficiency depends on the efficiency of the software and the tuning of the transmission, he explains. At the same time, testing and drive cycle play a key role, with the European and US drive cycles producing different results.
“The best transmission [with regard to fuel efficiency] is generally an AMT because it is a manual and you control the shifts according to the driving cycle,” says Hansson.
Fuel economy will be the defining factor behind future vehicle development, believes Hansson. Alongside that will be the expansion of electrification into all areas, something which requires suppliers like Kongsberg to be capable of delivering a portfolio of electronic solutions, including software and all types of human machine interfaces.
Another area that Kongsberg is currently working on is the relationship between shifting and safety. Here, the company is working with an OEM and a university, to study the safety aspects of gear shifting. Essentially, this study strives to understand where a driver’s eyes are focused while shifting, where their hands are placed and even how a driver reacts in a new car, for instance, a rental car.
“We’re looking at all safety critical items, to define the best way of shifting gear in a controlled way. We see so many solutions on the market, and we see that other OEMs are also looking at different solutions,” Kongsberg’s Hansson tells us.
“It is about how you avoid unexpected direction changes, how to avoid unexpected acceleration, and how to avoid lack of expected acceleration. There are many critical issues between man and machine.”
With vehicle manufacturers focusing on weight reduction, and with a variety of new materials like carbon fibre composites coming in, there is a need for suppliers like Kongsberg to also bring down the weight of their components.
“Everything that is downsizing and down-mass is an advantage in the competitive quotations we are into. The lighter the shifter, the better, and we are utilising our simulation team a lot. Even in the quotation phase, we have been able to show customers how we can meet their requirements even before we have the part,” Hansson explains. “And we do that 100% in a simulation environment.”
David Isaiah
