Hyundai Motor Company has established itself as an important global automobile manufacturer in recent years and the South Korean firm is not ready to rest on its laurels.
Hyundai had recently showcased its future engine lineup at the 12th International Powertrain conference in South Korea. The car maker is ready to take another technical leap by developing efficient Dual Clutch Transmissions (DCT) for its model lineup.
On the sidelines of the ongoing SEMA show, Mr. Mike O'Brien, Vice President of product planning at Hyundai Motor America told that the inherent inefficiencies of CVT (Continuously variable transmission) has led to the consideration of the dual clutch technology.
He said, "Dual-clutch has a better future with us. It has better fuel-economy advantages. It's better for the enthusiast driver. It matches (our products) better".
The CVTs suffer from frictional losses since the pulleys need to haul the steel transmission belt and also a significant amount of power is lost while transmitting it to the wheel with the help of a hydraulic system. Even though the shifts are smoother in a CVT than the DCT, the latter can execute lightening quick gear shifts and is also has better performance and efficiency.
With the focus on DCT technology, Hyundai is aiming to nullify the technical superiority that the VW group cars enjoy with respect to transmissions.
In the Indian market, the only company that has a DCT in the volume segments is Ford with the Powershift technology which is quite easily the best automatic transmission for under 10 lakhs, sadly ruined by the lack of demand for petrol automatics. Ford India, with time, would make this technology available over a wider range of cars. The EcoSport is next in line to get Powershift, which outpaces the manual transmission on the Fiesta, in fuel efficiency, with an extra cog.
Hyundai may switch over to DCT on its next generation i20, Verna and Elantra models to give customers a better experience behind the wheel. Crucially, it has to be paired to a diesel engine if it has any hopes to succeed in India.
[Source: Autonews.com]
