Volkswagen shows off 1-speed gearbox for MEB-based EVs

Very interesting, this should give the ID.3 a lot more oomph at faster speeds, or at least that's the gist I get from it.


https://insideevs.com/news/400900/vw-1-speed-gearbox-meb/

KCross

What is different about it to every other EV reduction gearbox?

Dont they even say its like others..... "similarly to most of the other EVs"


Is it the 2-stage bit is different?

Lumen

Yeah, I don't get it.

They seem to be claiming to have invented something that's been in use for years.

liamog

The original article is from VW Newsroom.
https://www.volkswagen-newsroom.com/en/press-releases/in-brief-the-all-rounder-the-1-speed-gearbox-5818?fbclid=IwAR1Da7FqUChfHuxQ_HHIEF-v8Pnf3xY6KLp5WNmvVnXfqYxTdVeP8aTnrJ0

They are not so much claiming to have invented something revolutionary, as they are sharing news about a component built at the Kassel plant which will be used in the MEB platform.

pdpmur

liamog wrote: »

They are not so much claiming to have invented something revolutionary, as they are sharing news about a component built at the Kassel plant which will be used in the MEB platform.

So.... a gearbox with two fixed reduction gears and an open diff is newsworthy?
Smells to me like the marketing dept has been ordered to produce some positive spin to offset all the recent negative reports.

I think this is the key piece from all that waffling in the article.

As a result, the electric drive motor in the ID.3 provides the maximum torque of 310 Nm constantly over a wide range of speeds

"Max torque over a wide range of speeds", a normal single speed EV can't do this, or 1 stage reducer gear.

This would be really great because as we all know torque drops off a lot at high speed so it would be really great if VW can allow an EV to have more power at higher speeds and hopefully more manufacturers will do similar.

Clever stuff from VW, it might actually make the whole drive train more efficient.

Some form of gearbox for electrics was inevitable at some point.

Lumen

Deleted User wrote: »

I think this is the key piece from all that waffling in the article.

As a result, the electric drive motor in the ID.3 provides the maximum torque of 310 Nm constantly over a wide range of speeds

"Max torque over a wide range of speeds", a normal single speed EV can't do this, or 1 stage reducer gear.

This would be really great because as we all know torque drops off a lot at high speed so it would be really great if VW can allow an EV to have more power at higher speeds and hopefully more manufacturers will do similar.

Clever stuff from VW, it might actually make the whole drive train more efficient.

Some form of gearbox for electrics was inevitable at some point.

I still don't get it.

Dual-motor Teslas have different reduction ratios on front and back, which allows (in principle) for some optimisation of power at different road speeds (please don't refer to torque, it's too confusing - torque where? at motor? at driveshaft? at wheel?).

But here there's only a single reduction ratio.

KCross

Lumen wrote: »

I still don't get it.

I'm with ya. I dont think there is anything new at all in this motor. Its just a bit of VW PR to show their one.

liamog

pdpmur wrote: »

So.... a gearbox with two fixed reduction gears and an open diff is newsworthy?
Smells to me like the marketing dept has been ordered to produce some positive spin to offset all the recent negative reports.

They've been releasing information like this overtime for a while. I think the news is more aimed at German auto-unions, notice how it's making a big deal of the component plant in Kassel in being involved in the production.

Not sure if you have much experience in corporates, but in my experience news doesn't have to be revolutionary to merit a press release. Half the time they are business as usual with minor changes.

Lumen

Lumen wrote: »

I still don't get it.

Dual-motor Teslas have different reduction ratios on front and back, which allows (in principle) for some optimisation of power at different road speeds (please don't refer to torque, it's too confusing - torque where? at motor? at driveshaft? at wheel?).

But here there's only a single reduction ratio.

To save space, the gearbox has a two-stage design with two smaller cogs instead of one big one. As a result, the electric drive motor in the ID.3 provides the maximum torque of 310 Nm constantly over a wide range of speeds. The maximum speed of 160 km/h is reached at a maximum of 16,000 rpm. For the ID.3 which is optimized for maximum range, the use of a single gear for all driving situations is perfectly adequate."

It could be that by allowing the motor to spin at a higher rpm and combining it with two smaller gears allows the motor to produce more useful power over a greater range compared to a 1 gear system spinning at less rpm for instance.

It might also make the drive train more efficient too.

The translation from German might not be the best.

I think we'll be seeing more gearbox designs for electrics in the future.