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CVT(Continuously variable transmission) is a Japanese technology and can be found in almost all Japanese origin cars and scooters worldwide.
The CVT transmission is known for its efficiency/fuel economy (comparable to a manual transmission), jerk free gear shifts, low maintenance and owing to limited electronics content, it offers better long-term reliability.
Now that automatic transmission specced cars are growing in popularity even in emerging countries, CVT transmission has the potential to grow at even faster rate.
CVT transmission equipped cars started to get more acceptance in mid 2000s and by 2007, Nissan alone sold 1 Million cars globally, equipped with CVT.
In Europe, DCTs (Dual clutch transmission) have gradually replaced CVT. In the Indian market, CVTs accounted for ~3% share of auto transmission market in 2018 because AMTs have been gaining strong foothold.
The CVT transmission market is also facing risks in terms of substitution by other transmission technologies like DCT in premium segment, torque converter in the standard and AMT in the budget segment.
But, it is in the compact segment where CVT transmission truly shine. For example, in the kei car segment which accounts for ~35-40% of new car sales in Japan, the rated fuel economy for some CVT equipped cars has even exceeded 30km/L, as tested on JC08 cycle.
There have been numerous developments in the CVT transmission market in a bid to further improve the efficiency, including low viscosity oil, low friction belt and pulley, integration of idle-stop system using a high-efficiency electric oil pump etc.
Also, now many CVT transmissions have a unit-type body construction resulting in fewer parts and better control system to negate the infamous “rubber-band” effect.
Honda has specifically designed CVT for hybrid vehicles. It is being produced at Honda’s wholly owned transmission plant to in Foshan in China’s Guangdong province.
Jatco has already showcase its new E-axle concept at Shanghai auto show 2019 and could being mass production from 2021. To know more about E-axle, read our Global E-axle market 2019-2025 report
Transmission technology company Xtrac has unveiled its advanced e-axle system for the first electric-powered cars to compete in the 2021 to 2024 FIA World Rallycross Championship.
In May 2021, Marelli reached an agreement to form a joint venture with Punch Motive International shifted toward electrification and clean hydrogen energy through the development and assembly of integrated e-axles for electric vehicles.
In July 2021, Exro Technologies announced a strategic development agreement with Linamar to develop a new e-axle integrated electric drivetrain solution, using Exro’s coil drive technology to improve the cost and performance of Linamar’s eaxle product line. The initial demonstration of the technology uses Linamar’s medium duty e-axle product in the initial phase of development.
In 2018, CVT was the second most popular automatic transmission used in passenger cars after Torque converter automatic transmission, accounting for 16% global share. But it also faces a limitation in the sense that it cannot handle high input torque(>350Nm) and is rather suited for front wheel drive vehicles only.
The CVT transmission is extremely popular in Japan, ASEAN countries and Japanese cars sold in US where low torque (<350Nm), gasoline engine + automatic transmission powered cars dominate.
In the two-wheeler segment, owing to growth in the gearless scooter segment in urban India,(34% in FY 2019 from 21% in FY 2013) TVS and Hero Motocorp have developed their own proprietary CVT transmission in the past decade. CVT transmission equipped scooters now account for 7 Million units annually
In the first half of 2021, around 23 lakhs scooters were sold in India. The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 affected almost all the sectors around the world due to supply chain disruptions and lockdowns. After this pandemic, all the sectors were recovering and one among them is the scooter sector. The scooter sales reported a dip in December 2020 however the sales increased gradually from January to April in 2021 to 16.7 lakh units.
In May 2021, the scooter sales were again reduced to 50,294 units due to lockdown in most parts of the country. Sales were slowly back on track as the scooter sales increased to 2.4 lakh units in June 2021 and 3.35 lakh units in July 2021.
The Global CVT Transmission market was estimated at $XX Billion in 2020 growing at –% CAGR till 2026
COVID-19 has affected the production and sales of new vehicles across the world as the whole ecosystem had been disrupted in the initial outbreak. With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the automotive industry, the continuous variable transmission (CVT) market saw a dip in market share as a result of low automotive sales or new requirements.
Due to deeper and wider penetration of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic into rural areas, the governments around the world were forced to impose multiple phases of lockdown to restrain the spread of the virus. OEMs had to wait until lockdowns were lifted to resume production and also, component manufacturing was suspended which led to liquidity issues for small tier II and tier III manufacturers.
Meanwhile, the integration of CVT in the vehicles by the OEMs with a higher cost of installation compared with conventional transmission systems also hindered the growth of CVT transmission market.
However the conditions improved in the latter months as demand for scooters increased as people preferred individual mobility rather than using public transportation during this pandemic.
The rising demand for eco-friendly vehicles across the globe utilized with CVT systems offers more useable power and consumes less fuel than conventional and manual transmission systems also increased the growth of market.
The major factors which driven CVT systems over other transmission systems as they provide quicker acceleration and helped in changing the engine speed to access maximum power.
In the light of the worsening road conditions, advancement in technology, growing preference toward economy and convenience, and rising demand for fuel efficient vehicles increased the growth of the global CVT transmission market.
Jatco Ltd has developed a new continuously variable transmission (CVT) for medium to large front-wheel drive (FWD) vehicles which brought a leap in environmental performance and drivability, the “Jatco CVT-X”.The main features of CVT-X are exhaustive friction reduction, superior acceleration performance and excellent NVH performance. The CVT-X has installed in the Nissan Qashqai, on sale in Europe since June 2021 – July 2021
Aisin Corporation was established by merging of two of the core companies of the group- Aisin Seiki CO.,Ltd and Aisin AW Co.,Ltd. Aisin Seiki Co.,Ltd launched a new research center in Tokyo for the development of automatic transmission systems (CVT & DCT) – April 2021
Punch Powertrain introduced its new VT5 continuous variable transmission (CVT) based on the success of the robust VT3, the VT5 was developed for a wider range of vehicles. For a single stage CVT, it has the world’s largest ratio coverage of 7.2 and with excellent and robust torque converter launching capabilities – March 2021
Jatco Ltd has started its fully-fledged production of continuously variable transmission at its second CVT production plant in Suzhou, China. This plant used Jatco’s global standard equipment and operating procedures to manufacture Jacto CVT8 with an output capacity of 480,000 units per year for medium and large commercial vehicles – January 2020
Daihatsu Corporation launched the world’s first split-gear CVT system called D-CVT (Dual mode CVT). D-CVT combines belt drive with a high transmission-efficiency gear drive, improving fuel efficiency, acceleration feel and quietness. In contrast to belt-type CVT, D-CVT enabled motive force to be split and transmitted through both the belts and gears – September 2019
Japan is the largest automotive continuously variable transmission (CVT) market with about 55% market share. Aisin Corporation reported a significant increase in revenue of 1072.5 million yen in the second quarter of FY 2022, up 76% as compared with the same period of the previous year.
In FY 2021, they sold 2.9 million transmission units in the asian region and 5.3 million transmission units in other regions around the world. Honda Motor Company Ltd reported a sales revenue of 3,583.8 billion yen with a year-on-year increase of 68.7% in the first quarter of FY 2022.
Despite some unfavourable factors such as the shortage of transmission system components and increase in raw materials costs, it posted a consolidated operating profit of 243.2 billion yen in the first quarter of FY 2022.
In the motorcycle business , Honda reported a sales revenue of 518.2 billion yen with a year-on-year increase of 243.9 billion yen due to recovery of sales mainly in Asia.
Similarly in the automotive business, it reported a sales revenue of 2,252.4 billion yen with a year-on-year increase of 996.7 billion yen primarily due to recovery of automatic transmission vehicle sales mainly in North America.
Fuji Heavy Industries is renamed as Subaru Corporation reported a revenue of 6.35 billion yen in the first quarter of 2021, up 39% as compared with the same period of the previous year with 4.56 billion ten.
Daihatsu Motor Co.Ltd reported a net sales of 56,745 million yen in the first quarter of 2021 with an increase of 5.6% year-on-year difference as compared with the previous fiscal year.
The Japanese suppliers dominate the CVT transmission market. Among leading European powertrains Bosch and Continental are only supplying the sub-components. For example, Bosch is among the leading sub-component (Pushbelt) suppliers whereas Continental is the leading Transmission control unit supplier for the global CVT transmission market.
Jatco(30+% market share) and Aisin are among the world market leaders in CVT transmission market.Jatco has seven plants worldwide producing CVT transmissions with a combined annual capacity of 4.5 Million units.
Honda and Toyota produce CVT transmissions internally for some platforms and out-source for a few. With the blistering growth of the Electric vehicle market, it will be interesting to see how the CVT transmission market shapes up for the industry participants.
Toyota Motor Corporation, launched a new continuously variable transmission (CVT), six-speed manual transmission, 2.0-liter engine, 2.0-liter hybrid system, and 4WD systems based on the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA), a development framework intended to produce ever-better cars.
Exceptional driving performance and good environmental performance are also provided by the new technology. In comparison to conventional CVTs, the new continuously variable transmission has a launch gear, a technology that is a first in the world.
This launch gear greatly increases transmission efficiency at low speeds. In addition to having a greater fuel efficiency, it also realises a direct and smooth reaction to the application of the accelerator. Obtaining transmission efficiency, high-efficiency engine ranges, and very responsive gear changes is the fundamental goal of any transmission system.
Toyota has worked to decrease mechanical loss, adopt a larger gear range, and enhance shift tracking in an effort to enhance these features. These efforts have improved the fuel efficiency by 6% compared to the previous transmission system, resulting in a direct and comfortable driving experience.
The new powertrain unit has the first launch gear in a CVT for a passenger car in the world, which enables increased transmission efficiency in lower gear ratios where belt economy is subpar.
while starting from a complete stop, the transmission system switches to gear drive, producing strong acceleration while also getting rid of the brief sluggish sensation that was previously experienced while applying the accelerator. Performance is realised that is both comfortable and slick.
The transmission system employs highly responsive gear shift control technologies developed from AT technology while converting from gear drive to belt drive. As a result of the use of a launch gear, belt utilisation is now required for higher gear ratios. A class-leading gear ratio range of 7.5 for the 2.0 litre class is made possible by this revolutionary system.
which also increases the efficiency of belt use and permits the adoption of broader gear ranges. Reduced input load is obtained by the use of launch gears. By doing this, it is possible to make the pulley and belt components smaller.
Shifting rates are 20% faster as a result of the belt angle being reduced and the pulley diameters being lowered. Acceleration is realised in both a forceful and rhythmic manner.The new system weighs seven kilogrammes less and is 24 millimetres shorter overall than the previous iteration.
As a result, it is among the smallest transmissions in the world, and its diminutive size helps vehicles use less gasoline. The iMT (Intelligent Manual Transmission) controls, which automatically regulate engine rotations while changing gears, are used with the 6MT to ensure smooth gear shifting without the driver experiencing any uncomfortable recoils.
The 6MT also boasts industry-leading transmission efficiency(1). According to Toyota, the TNGA-based powertrain units alone will boost fuel efficiency to the point that CO2 emissions from Toyota vehicles are expected to drop by more than 18%.
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