Focus on commercial vehicles
Torotrak is highly active in the commercial vehicle market, working with a number of licensees including Allison Transmission, Inc. (the world leader in fully automatic transmissions in the commercial vehicle sector) and also a major European truck and bus manufacturer, who remains unnamed for reasons of confidentiality.
OEMs and tier-1 suppliers in the commercial vehicle market can benefit from Torotrak’s technology in several ways:
Main drive transmissions
Our full-toroidal traction drive technology has been specifically developed to handle the long service life, high power density and high torque demands of this market. When used in an infinitely variable transmission (IVT) configuration, the technology decouples engine speed from vehicle speed, ensuring the engine is running at its most efficient operating point at all times.
Read more about the benefits of our technology in main drive commercial vehicle transmissions.
Flywheel-based mechanical hybrids
In conjunction with a high-speed composite flywheel, Torotrak’s KERS CVT can be used in a mechanical hybrid to recover energy that would normally be lost during braking, and return this back into the driveline. This is particularly suited to vehicles with regular stop-start operation such as passenger buses and delivery trucks.
Read more about our technology in mechanical hybrids.
Toroidal variable auxiliary drives (TVADs)
Torotrak’s innovative toroidal variable auxiliary drive (TVAD) technology provides a variable ratio between the engine and auxiliary systems (such as superchargers and air-conditioning systems) to deliver a rapid, stepless change in ancillary speed. This enables engine manufacturers to optimise the efficiency and performance of many key engine auxiliary systems to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions, irrespective of engine rpm.
Read more about our variable auxiliary drives.