The current car buying principle of consumers is basically to choose an AT gearbox if they can, and avoid double clutch if they can avoid it. They are really scared of double clutch. Because ever since the Volkswagen dual-clutch crisis, as long as you talk about dual-clutch, you can't do without negative words like frustration, overheating, and abnormal noise.
But have you noticed that domestic car companies such as Great Wall Haval, Geely, Changan, Chery, Trumpchi, Roewe, etc. together have at least dozens of cars using dual-clutch. More than half of the top ten SUVs or sedans in terms of independent sales use dual-clutch gearboxes. This makes me wonder why they don't use AT gearboxes with better reputations?
Isn’t the AT gearbox good?
In fact, many people know that the cost of AT gearboxes is too high. If you really want to independently develop AT gearboxes, there are still some patented technical barriers that need to be avoided, such as mainstream AT manufacturers ZF of Germany and Japan. Aisin, Japan's JATCO, South Korea's Hyundai Powertech, etc. all hold many patented technologies. In the process of independent research and development, if the same technology of a certain big brand is used, the patent fee will be a big expense, and the cost is indeed high.
Of course, there are also AT gearbox manufacturers in China, such as Dongan Qifa and Shandong Shengrui. The 8AT launched by Shengrui was indeed a sensation. However, Shengrui's production capacity cannot keep up with the speed at which car companies produce cars, and costs have remained high, obliterating the local low-price advantage.
In addition, Shengrui’s lack of technology is a fundamental problem. The Landwind X7 equipped with Shengrui 8AT has always had problems with its gearbox. Even if Shengrui’s second-generation product was developed, the Landwind X7 gearbox has not gained a reputation. There is an obvious change, and there are a lot of cars lying in the repair shop. It can be said that the failure of Landwind X7, in addition to plagiarism, also accounts for a large part in gearbox problems.
The AT gearboxes of Shengrui and Dongan should be said to have only solved the problem from scratch. Before other domestic car companies dare to use them, the reliability of these gearboxes still has a long way to go. Walk.
If you don’t like the gearboxes of domestic manufacturers, then buy them. Take Changan CS75 PLUS as an example. The cost of Changan purchasing an Aisin 6AT gearbox is about 8,000 yuan, and purchasing an Aisin 8AT gearbox The cost is just over 10,000 yuan, and accordingly the pricing of the entire vehicle will definitely increase.
In fact, it is not just a matter of cost
At present, the major transmission brands that independent brands are most keen to purchase are Aisin and ZF, such as GAC Trumpchi GS4/GS5/GS8/ GM6/GM8, Changan CS35 PLUS/CS55 PLUS/CS75 PLUS/CS85, and some Geely models all use Aisin transmissions, while Great Wall and other self-owned brand pickup models mostly use ZF transmissions.
With so many independent models in use, the output and scale will naturally be larger, so cost is not an issue. Moreover, there is an obvious competitive relationship between these two major manufacturers, and they will also launch better and more competitive products.
However, if you keep using other people’s gearboxes, your development can easily be restricted. Now, independent brands using gearboxes from these two major manufacturers can compete with other major joint venture manufacturers, such as Geely and Changan. Their sales last year were both in the top ten, while Toyota ranked among the top two domestic joint ventures. After reaching the 10th place.
This has posed a clear threat to Toyota. What’s more terrible is that Toyota is Aisin’s major shareholder and has a dominant advantage. From a conspiracy theory perspective, if Toyota wants to control the situation, it will definitely tighten the supply of gearboxes.
Therefore, domestic independent brands always have some stumbling blocks in cooperation with Aisin. Trumpchi was stuck by Aisin. The Trumpchi GS8 that was launched at that time was quite popular. In the first quarter of 2017 Monthly sales exceeded 10,000, which was more popular than the GAC Toyota Highlander at the time.
But later, Aisin's transmission production capacity could not keep up, and it accumulated a large number of delivery orders, missing the opportunity to hit higher sales. At that time, it almost had to use its own dual-clutch. Many people in the industry once believed that production capacity issues were one aspect, and "procurement difficulties" were the focus.
Why was Changan able to take the lead in adopting Aisin gearbox at that time? Aisin has always been very stingy in investing in Chinese companies, but the relationship between Changan and Aisin is actually far better than other independent brands, because Changan Suzuki, Shenlong Automobile, Changan Ford, and Changan Mazda all have cooperative relationships with Aisin, and basically all use Aisin transmissions. boxes, so the cooperation between Changan and Aisin is smoother than other brands. However, the negotiations between Changan and Aisin were not easy, and they had to make great compromises on the proportion of funds before finally reaching a cooperation.
In 2018, Geely and GAC signed contracts with Aisin to establish two joint ventures. Aisin holds the largest shareholding and still has the right to speak, so Aisin is willing to invest heavily in China in 2020. The 6AT gearbox has an annual production capacity of 400,000 units. The two-year gap period is obviously to whet the appetite for independent brands. Another reason is that 6AT is gradually being replaced by 8AT, so Aisin is willing to take out the somewhat backward 6AT and put it into large-scale production in China at this time.
There is no way for independent brands to be led by the nose, because Aisin is one of the few suppliers that can develop AT gearboxes by itself. The technology is reliable and the cost is lower than ZF. The product is fundamentally Don’t worry about selling, what can you do if I drag you down?
Dual-clutch gearboxes solve the urgent needs of independent brands
From the market environment, the market position of dual-clutch gearboxes has indeed changed, and wet dual-clutch gearboxes are also in the European market. Large-scale adoption, such as BMW's UKL front-wheel drive platform models, initially selected Magna's 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox. In addition, many European car companies have also begun to develop dual-clutch gearboxes.
The market share of 6AT is also gradually declining. It dropped to 9% last year. You must know that when the market share of 6AT was the highest, it accounted for 1/4 of the market, while the dual-clutch market has dropped from the original 10%. %, increased to 20%. More and more manufacturers are choosing dual-clutch gearboxes, and independent brands naturally follow this trend.
In addition, BorgWarner has also provided a lot of help to domestic independent brands. When domestic independent brands were faced with the embarrassment of using AT-less transmissions, BorgWarner extended an olive branch and was willing to cooperate with domestic independent brands. The two companies invested in the research and development of dual-clutch gearboxes, firstly to enhance the reputation of their own brands, and secondly, to help independent brands that are in a technological blank period to improve their technical strength.
In addition, Volkswagen's dual-clutch technology is also becoming increasingly mature. Although it left a lot of stains in the early stage, today, when it comes to who is the strongest dual-clutch, Volkswagen still has the highest voice. In the early stage of the development of dual-clutch gearboxes by independent brands, many of them referred to Volkswagen. Although they took some detours, they still achieved certain results.
The most important thing is that the advantages of dual-clutch are suitable for the development of independent brands now, and the transmission efficiency of dual-clutch is unmatched by other gearboxes. According to relevant statistics, the dual-clutch shifting speed is generally about 80ms. You must know that the fastest AT gearbox shifting speed is 150ms. The shifting power interruption time is shortened, the efficiency can also be improved, and the fuel consumption will naturally decrease. It is a headache for independent brands. Environmental problems are easier to solve.
In addition, in the past few years during the transition to electrification, hybrid models have gradually increased, such as Geely Boyue/Jiaji/Xingyue, BYD Tang DM/Song DM, etc., in order to better integrate with electric motors For matching, these car companies will also choose to match a smaller gearbox, and dual-clutch is obviously the most suitable.
The dual-clutch gearbox is smaller than the AT and CVT gearboxes, and the mechanical structure is also very simple. In the limited cabin, the hybrid system using the dual-clutch gearbox is obviously better laid out than the traditional AT. It is more convenient to use with CVT, and the difficulty of matching and adjustment will be much less.
And in today’s globalized world, the components of dual-clutch transmissions come from major international manufacturers. For example, Great Wall Haval has been using Getrag’s wet dual-clutch transmission since before 2017. This transmission Among the 157 parts in the box, only 15 were produced independently. At that time, the level of autonomy was not high, but the dual-clutch modules basically used the same products from other brands. For example, BMW on the UKL platform had its dual-clutch plate. In addition to the control unit, other technologies are also similar in the vertical direction.
Geely is also a supporter of Getrag gearboxes, but since acquiring Volvo, Geely has also absorbed Volvo’s dual-clutch gearbox technology and developed its own 7-speed wet dual-clutch gearbox.
Moreover, they also have technical cooperation with BorgWarner. The transmission module is also from Germany's Schaeffler, and the hardware configuration is the same as that of other major automobile manufacturers, especially BYD, Chery, Roewe, etc.
Written at the end
It can be said that it is helpless for independent brands to use dual-clutch, but it is also an accidental opportunity. Before there was an AT gearbox, independent brands did have to rely on others for technical support, and sales were also limited. But after embarking on the road of independent research and development, at least the problem of starting from scratch has been solved. Perhaps one day, when our independent brands reach a certain level of technological development, we will also be able to see our own excellent gearbox manufacturers. Whether it is a trend or helplessness, it is a good thing to be able to develop products on our own.
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.