What is the difference between the Torotrak IVT and other CVTs already in the market?

The continuing take up of CVTs in the market is a sign of the increasing acceptance and need for variable transmissions. This reinforces the comments Torotrak has been hearing from the industry that further development of fixed ratio transmissions will offer little extra benefits and the way forward is variable transmissions.
The belt and chain CVT is a mature technology that has been in the market for over 30 years but in relatively low volumes due to torque capacity limitations and driveability issues. Recent developments have increased the torque capacity to 300Nm and improved the driveability but the volumes of CVTs in the market still remain relatively low – 2 million per year at present, 3% of the global passenger car market. The mechanical configuration of CVT limits the applications currently to front wheel drive, which excludes the rear wheel drive market and most 4 wheel drive vehicles. Given these limitations forecasts suggest that market penetration will peak in 2007 at 5%.

Torotrak are confident that the IVT will gain a much larger share of the market due to the fact that there are no torque limitations and unlike CVTs the IVT offers considerable benefits over conventional transmissions in addition to a full vehicle range application.

In the off-highway market (agricultural tractors and construction vehicles) the CVTs currently in the market are hydrostatic systems. The Torotrak full toroidal IVT is more efficient, less complex and can be manufactured at a lower cost than a hydrostatic.