Consumer demand and legislative pressures continue to drive the automotive market for improved fuel economy. Torotrak's real competition is in the alternative ways to achieve this. Conventional technical solutions are yielding small improvements, generally at a substantial cost, but the market is demanding dramatic improvements. Car companies are having to deploy new technologies actively to meet the fuel economy challenge. Their choices are relatively straightforward:
Make vehicles lighter. A number of lightweight vehicles have made their way into series production and are demonstrating promising economy and performance improvements but the aluminium technology behind these products is expensive in unit cost terms and demands a major shift in manufacturing technology that is very capital intensive. The combination of these factors means that it is not currently economic for medium and small vehicles.
Improve the aerodynamics. The continued development of the science of aerodynamics is yielding small incremental improvements in fuel economy but is coming into conflict with the demands of the automotive designers who are seeking to promote strong brand identity for their marques through ever more bold styles. This is particularly so in the off-road, sport utility and cross-over vehicle market where chunky looks and high ground clearance are counteractive to aerodynamic performance.
Improve the efficiency of the engine. New engine technologies continue to emerge in response to the fuel economy and emissions challenge. The industry predicts that the internal combustion engine has a long-term future lasting at least 30 years. Car companies are therefore continuing investment in petrol engines, with gasoline direct injection and variable valve lift, and in diesel technology, with ever increasing injection pressure and complex exhaust after-treatment systems. In addition, research work is progressing on hydrogen as a replacement to fossil fuels and viable automotive applications will feature the burning of hydrogen in internal combustion engines within ten years. What is clear is that in all of these developments a variable transmission is needed to maximise the benefits of the engine technology.
Develop new transmissions. In transmission engineering the fixed ratio 6AT is becoming standard technology. As fixed ratio technology nears the peak of its development curve, the industry is acknowledging the law of diminishing returns. There is a need for variable transmission technologies to deliver motive power in a fundamentally more flexible way. As an example, the belt drive continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) in the market are an indication that the automotive industry is motivated to embrace these alternatives but CVTs are limited in torque capacity, driveability, refinement and fuel economy benefit. This means real market potential exists for a technology that does not have these limitations.
This is the market place for Torotrak’s IVT technology. It is the unique combination of performance, refinement, customer appeal and a dramatic improvement in fuel economy, delivered at a competitive cost that makes it such a compelling product proposition to the car companies.
