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Customer LoginsGM to apply new 9-speed transmission to 10 models by end of 2017
An all-new transmission launches in the Chevrolet Malibu, mated to the 2.0-litre Ecotec turbo 4-cylinder engine, and will feature with the Chevrolet Cruze 1.6-litre diesel engine.
IHS Markit Perspective
- Significance: General Motors (GM) has confirmed that its new nine-speed automatic transmission will be installed in 10 vehicles by the end of 2017, following the launch application in the 2017-model-year Chevrolet Malibu.
- Implications: While the nine-speed unit is not expected to fully displace the current six-speed unit according to GM, IHS Automotive forecasts installation rates of the six-speed will drop significantly in favour of both the new nine- and 10-speed transmissions.
- Outlook: This new transmission is the result of a targeted collaboration between GM and Ford that is delivering a new 10-speed transmission for rear-drive applications and this nine-speed transmission for front-drive applications. Automakers have been looking to multi-speed transmissions to address fuel efficiency and emissions regulations and improvements, with the automatic transmission landscape forecast to favour transmissions with eight or more speeds by 2021.
General Motors (GM) has begun deploying a nine-speed automatic transmission developed with Ford. The transmission, 9T50 in GM's code system, launches in the 2017-model-year Malibu sedan, mated to the 2.0-litre Ecotec turbo engine. Although not until early 2018, the 2017 Chevrolet Cruze with the 1.6-litre turbo-diesel engine will use this transmission. (GM ensured the transmission can be mated to either a gasoline or a diesel engine.) Chevrolet's 2018-model-year Equinox with the 2.0-litre Ecotec turbo will also leverage the transmission. The Chevrolet brand will have one more vehicle by end of 2017 with the transmission; six other GM family products will also feature the transmission by end of 2017.
The new transmission was developed under GM's agreement with Ford covering this front-drive 9AT and a rear-drive 10AT transmission. GM's Chris Meagher, executive director, transmission and electrification hardware, told a group of media and analysts (including IHS Markit) that the arrangement was, in terms of time and capital investment, like getting two transmissions for the price of one. However, the two transmissions themselves are wholly unrelated. Each company has developed the transmissions and control software for its own applications, although some parts are identical. Each company developed its own gear ratios and software controls.
Meagher told the group that the objectives for transmission development included exceeding customer expectations relative to efficiency and shift feel, as well as developing a compact and efficient unit with a premium feel. GM leveraged the existing 6AT as a starting point, noting its quality and reliability, and designed the new nine-speed to be able to fit into existing vehicle programmes, to speed its market deployment. GM said that a new, industry-first selectable one-way clutch replaces a mechanical diode and first/reverse clutch pack, saving nearly one inch in transmission length and helping ensure the nine-speed is similarly sized to the current six-speed. GM filed 60 new patents in the development of the transmission. The selectable one-way clutch freewheel shifts between first and second, enabling smooth coasting in first gear, and reduces mass and packaging. While taking up a similar amount of space, the new transmission weighs about 10 kg more than the 6AT.
Along with fuel efficiency improvements, the new transmission has a wider overall useable ratio spread of 7.6:1, compared with the 6AT's 6.0:10. Gears eight and nine are overdrive, while the seventh gear is direct drive. GM notes that the system makes extensive use of the ninth speed - it is not a gear for show. Smaller slips in lower gears significantly reduce energy transfer during shifts for smoother and a more efficient operation. Depending on the customer input (throttle position and driving habits), the transmission will shift any gear to any other gear and will, in some cases, skip gears. The control software for the transmission is new, fully redeveloped by GM internally. The teams developing the software and the control hardware worked together in development for a more efficient process and result, said assistant chief engineer Scott Kline. The transmission uses five planetary gearsets and four stationary clutches, as well as a torque converter, for a package GM said it is smaller than freewheeling designs.
The 9AT takes an evolution of the start-stop accumulator technology deployed on the 6AT and other GM start-stop-equipped transmissions. While not all-new for the 9AT, GM engineers said the system is integral to the system they have developed and enables a more efficient and smoother operation. The accumulator stores pressure so the first clutch can get pressure as soon as the engine comes back on. IHS Markit recently experienced GM's start-stop system on the Buick LaCrosse and its eight-speed automatic transmission. The system is now the smoothest and least obtrusive in the industry.
Outlook and implications
This new transmission results from a targeted collaboration between GM and Ford that is delivering a new 10-speed transmission for rear-drive applications and this nine-speed transmission for front-drive applications. Automakers have been looking to multi-speed transmissions to address fuel efficiency and emissions regulations and improvements, with the landscape forecast to favour transmissions with eight or more speeds by 2021. In 2016, 60% of the automatic transmissions installed in global vehicle production will have six forward gears; by 2021, eight-speed transmissions are forecast to see the highest installation rate among automatic transmissions, industry wide.
Whether related specifically to engines or transmissions or other areas of vehicle development, the industry will likely see continued and perhaps accelerated examples of this type of collaboration. If the two can efficiently work together, capital expenditure and time to market can be reduced without a more definitive or encompassing relationship between two automakers. GM is introducing the nine-speed transmission first, while Ford has announced first deployment of the 10-speed in its Ford F-150 Raptor performance truck (see United States: 4 May 2016: Ford announces 10-speed automatic transmission, new 3.5-litre Ecoboost for 2017 F-150).
GM said the new transmission gains as much as a 2% fuel economy improvement, underscoring how significant every gain in this measure is critical to automakers meeting both customer demand for improved fuel economy as well as regulations. The GM version of the transmission is sourced solely at GM's San Luis Potosi, Mexico, facility. IHS Automotive forecasts the transmission will be installed in more than 634,000 units per year by 2020, including Cadillac, Opel, Buick, GMC, and Chevrolet products. IHS Automotive predicts that this will include use in the GMC Terrain and Acadia and Cadillac XT3 compact utility and Opel Insignia. While GM indicated that the 9AT will not fully replace the 6AT for quite some time, if at all, IHS Automotive expects installation of the 6AT will decline from about 1.9 million units in 2016 to about 440,000 units in 2020.
While GM said the nine-speed unit is not expected to fully displace the current six-speed unit, IHS Automotive predicts GM installation rates of the six-speed will drop significantly (as a share of automatic transmission installations at GM) as the new option comes on board. IHS Automotive anticipates GM installations of its six-speed automatic will drop from 83% in 2016 to 17% in 2021, as a share of automatic transmission installation; the new nine- and 10-speed transmissions are forecast to see combined automatic transmission installation rate of more than 75%.
Regarding the new 10-speed transmission, GM first installed it on a high-performance version of the Chevrolet Camaro (see United States: 28 June 2016: Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang to share 10-speed automatic transmission). Other expected GM applications include its full-size pickup and sport utility vehicle (SUV) products, as well as other upcoming Cadillac crossover utility vehicles (CUVs) and sedans and the expected body-on-frame compact SUV for Chevrolet, currently referred to as Blazer in IHS Markit data. By 2020, GM is expected to install the 10-speed in as many as 1.28 million vehicles per year. Ford is forecast to install its version in about 1.5 million vehicles, including full-size trucks and SUVs, the upcoming mid-size Ranger truck replacement, and the Bronco compact utility, the Mustang, and the next Lincoln MKZ.
While Meagher would not rule out the company developing a transmission with more than 10 gears, he did say that at this point GM is not looking for more forward gears. According to the IHS Automotive transmission installation forecast, only Honda and Aisin are also scheduled to deploy 10-speed automatic transmissions in the near term. Honda is projected to launch an 11-speed unit as well. There have been several deployments of a ZF-based 9-speed automatic transmission by FCA and Honda; both companies have seen negative consumer reaction to the shift behaviour, with FCA's development of its application behind schedule and causing a delay in the launch of the latest Jeep Cherokee (see United States: 25 October 2016: Consumer Reports' 2016 auto reliability survey highlights transmission, infotainment technology problems). GM and Ford executions need to be better aligned with consumers' expectations.
About this article
The above article is from IHS Automotive Same-Day Analysis of automotive news, events and trends, and is a deliverable of the World Markets Automotive Service. The service averages thirty stories per day and also provides competitor and country intelligence. Get a free trial.