Lexus have launched a hybrid system in which the rear wheels are driven directly by an electric motor - is there still a market for Torotrak in hybrid systems?

There are many different types of hybrid vehicles with varying powertrain configurations under development or being launched. The hybrid system used in the Lexus is very complex and expensive. It is predicted that the most common forms of hybrid layout will be based on more cost-effective parallel-hybrid configurations, which are compatible with IVT application. When an IVT is used in a hybrid vehicles, the benefits of each technology are broadly additive; the fuel economy gain achieved through the IVT's capability to optimise engine operation is largely incremental and additional to the benefit gained from the hybrid's capability to store and re-use the kinetic energy generated by the speed of the vehicle. Our expectation is that a parallel-hybrid system incorporating an IVT will provide at least the same fuel economy benefits as a complex hybrid system but at lower cost. To learn more about the advantages the IVT brings to a parallel hybrid click here.

For more information on the different hybrid systems and an explanation of the benefits of a hybrid system based around a full toroidal IVT please see the guide here.