23 Years' Battery Customization

In order to resist the competition between German and Chinese automakers, Japan’s nine major auto companies have developed an electric vehicle power train.

Aug 26, 2019   Pageview:704

Toyota and 10 other Japanese car companies have joined forces to study power train technology in what Japanese media described as a rare move to fend off German and Chinese carmakers and keep up with the global trend toward electrification.

 

According to the Nikkei Asian Review, nine of the participants are competitors, including Toyota and Honda's research institute Honda R&D, as well as Nissan, Isuzu, Suzuki, Subaru, Daihatsu, Mazda cars and Mitsubishi cars. The other two companies are auto parts manufacturers Aisin and Jatco.

 

The global shift to electric or hybrid vehicles is greatly increasing the burden on automakers. The picture shows the Toyota Prius hybrid and all-electric vehicle production line.

 

The 11 partners have formed an organization called the Transmission Research Association (TRAMI) to study the most efficient way to transfer power to engines and motors while improving fuel efficiency.

 

Under the trend of the automotive industry turning to hybrid and all-electric vehicles, it is difficult for companies to fight against the enemy alone, and the pressure from the research boom in Germany and China has prompted Japanese domestic players to decide to work together. TRAMI is the second collective research organization of the Japanese automotive industry. The first is the Internal Combustion Engine Research Association established by nine companies in 2014.

 

TRAMI was founded because the Chinese and German competitors are accelerating, making Japanese companies afraid that if they miss the opportunity, they will be left behind. As early as 50 years ago, the German government began to lead research on research and development of power trains. China has recently taken corresponding measures to promote research with generous government funds and technology provided by European companies.

 

Conversely, basic research in Japanese university power systems is much less than research focused on engines. Due to the lack of cooperation, the research progress of the automobile company has also been hindered. TRAMI is committed to changing this situation by sending about 10 engineers from each manufacturer, who will decide on different themes based on the challenges they face and entrust the research to Japanese universities.

 

One of the goals may be to improve performance by reducing friction between metal parts. The Yokohama National University and eight other schools are conducting a trial and the number of partner universities will increase in the future.

 

The report pointed out that the basic research of starting power train is based on the fact that Japanese automakers have long been inclined to internally manufacture power trains, including automatic transmissions and continuously variable transmissions, because they directly affect driving performance. In principle, Honda manufactures two types of transmissions in-house, and Toyota has in-house manufacturing and purchases from Aisin.

 

However, hybrid vehicles require a particularly complex power system, such as Honda's models that use the engine, motor or both depending on the driving situation. But electric vehicles don't need a transmission because the motor plays this function, but even if all cars are electric, car manufacturers still need efficient power train systems to transfer power from the motor to the wheels.

 

The head of TRAMI said that the rise of hybrids and electric vehicles creates demand for more complex technologies that exceed the level of development that a single company can handle on its own.

 

The page contains the contents of the machine translation.

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