But have you found that the current domestic car companies, such as Great Wall Haval, Geely, Changan, Chery, Chuanqi, Roewe, etc. In all, at least dozens of cars are using double clutches. More than half of the top ten SUVs or cars with independent sales use dual-clutch gearboxes, which makes me wonder why they don't use AT gearboxes with better reputation.
Doesn't the AT gearbox smell good?
In fact, many people know that the cost of at gearbox is too high. If we really want to independently develop AT gearboxes, there are still some patented technical barriers to be avoided, such as ZF in Germany, Aisin in Japan, Gatco in Japan, Wotai in South Korea, etc. They all have many patented technologies. In the process of independent research and development, in case the technology of a brand with the same name is used, paying patent fees is not a small expense, and the cost is really high.
Of course, there are also AT gearbox manufacturers in China, such as Dongan Automobile and Shandong Shengrui. The release of 8AT in Sheng Rui really caused a sensation. However, the production capacity of Sheng Rui simply can't keep up with the speed of getting on and off the bus, and the cost has remained high, which obliterates the advantage of local low prices.
Moreover, the lack of technology in Sheng Rui is a fundamental problem. The gearbox of Landwind X7 equipped with Shengrui 8AT has been full of problems. Even with the development of Sheng Rui's second-generation products, the reputation of Landwind X7 gearbox has not changed significantly. Many cars are parked in the garage. It can be said that the failure of Landwind X7, in addition to plagiarism, gearbox problems also accounted for a large part.
AT gearboxes in Sheng Rui and Dong 'an, it should be said, have only solved the problem from scratch, and the reliability of these gearboxes still has a long way to go before other domestic car companies dare to use them.
Domestic manufacturers don't like gearboxes, so they buy them. Take Chang 'an CS75 PLUS as an example. The cost of buying an Aisin 6AT gearbox in Chang 'an is about 8,000 yuan, and the cost of buying Aisin 8AT is in the early 654.38+0 million yuan, which definitely improves the pricing of the whole vehicle.
In fact, it's not just a question of cost.
At present, Aisin and ZF are the main gearbox manufacturers whose own brands are most keen on purchasing. For example, Guangzhou Automobile Chuanqi GS4/GS5/GS8/GM6/GM8, changan cs35 Plus/CS55Plus/CS75Plus/CS85, and some Geely models all use Aisin gearboxes, while self-owned brand pickups such as Great Wall use ZF gearboxes more.
With so many independent models in use, the output and scale are naturally larger, and the cost is not a problem. Moreover, the competition between these two manufacturers is obvious, and they will also launch better and more competitive products.
However, if you always use someone else's gearbox, your development will be easily limited. Now, the independent brands that use the gearboxes of these two manufacturers can compete with other joint ventures. For example, Geely and Changan both entered the top ten in sales last year, while Toyota's domestic joint ventures both ranked behind 10.
This has posed an obvious threat to Toyota. What's more, Toyota is the major shareholder of Aisin and has a dominant advantage. From the perspective of conspiracy theory, if Toyota wants to control the situation, it will definitely tighten the supply of gearboxes.
Therefore, domestic independent brands are always stumbling in the cooperation with Aisin, and Chuanqi is stuck in the neck by Aisin. Chuanqi GS8, which was listed at that time, was quite popular. The monthly sales of 20 17 exceeded 10,000, which was even more popular than GAC Toyota Highlander at that time.
However, the capacity of Aisin gearbox can't keep up, and a large number of delivery orders are accumulated, which misses the opportunity to impact higher sales. At that time, almost all of them used their own double clutches. Many people in the industry once thought that the problem of production capacity was one aspect, and "procurement difficulty" was the key point.
Why did Changan take the lead in adopting Aisin gearbox at that time? Aisin has always been stingy in putting into China enterprises, but the relationship between Changan and Aisin actually far exceeds other independent brands, because Changan Suzuki, Shenlong Automobile, Changan Ford and Changan Mazda all have cooperative relations with Aisin, and basically all use Aisin gearboxes, so the cooperation between Changan and Aisin is smoother than other brands. However, the negotiation between Chang 'an and Aisin was not easy. They made a great compromise on the proportion of funds and finally reached a cooperation.
From 2065438 to 2008, Geely, GAC and Aisin signed a contract to establish two joint ventures. Aisin shares the most, and the right to speak is still in their hands. Therefore, Aisin is willing to invest in a large 6AT gearbox in China in 2020, with an annual production capacity of 400,000 units. The gap between these two years is obviously to raise the appetite of independent brands. Another reason is that 6AT is gradually being replaced by 8AT, so Aisin is willing to take out the somewhat backward 6AT at this time and put it into production on a large scale in China.
Independent brands are led by the nose, and there is no way, because Aisin is one of the few suppliers who can develop AT gearboxes by themselves. The technology is reliable, the cost is lower than that of ZF, and the products are not sold at all. What if it's delayed?
The dual clutch gearbox solves the urgent need of independent brands.
From the market environment, the market position of dual-clutch gearbox has indeed changed, and wet dual-clutch gearbox has also been widely used in the European market. For example, BMW UKL front-wheel platform model chose Magna's 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox from the beginning, and many European car companies also began to develop dual-clutch gearboxes.
However, the market share of 6AT is gradually declining, and it has dropped to 9% last year. When the market share of 6AT was the highest, it occupied 1/4 market, while the dual clutch market has increased from 10% to 20%. More and more manufacturers choose dual-clutch gearboxes, and independent brands naturally conform to this trend.
And Borgwarner has also helped many independent brands. When domestic independent brands are faced with the embarrassment of using AT-free gearbox, Borgwarner extended an olive branch and is willing to jointly invest in the research and development of dual-clutch gearbox with domestic independent brands, for one thing, to enhance the reputation of independent brands, and for another, to help independent brands in the technical blank period improve their technical strength.
In addition, Volkswagen's dual clutch technology is becoming more and more mature. Although there are many stains in the early stage, today, it depends on who is the strongest in the dual clutch, and the voice of the public is still the highest. In the process of developing dual-clutch gearbox by independent brands, many people refer to Volkswagen. Although we have taken some detours, we still have some achievements.
Most importantly, the advantages of dual clutch are suitable for the development of independent brands now, and the transmission efficiency of dual clutch is beyond the reach of other gearboxes. According to relevant statistics, the shift speed of dual clutch is generally about 80ms, and the shift speed of the fastest AT gearbox is 150ms, which shortens the interruption time of shift power, improves efficiency, naturally reduces fuel consumption, and is easier to solve the environmental protection problems of independent brands.
In addition, in recent years of electrification transformation, hybrid vehicles have gradually increased, such as Geely Job/Cargill/Xingyue, BYD Tang DM/ Song DM and so on. In order to better match the motor, 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 AT and CVT gearboxes, and its mechanical structure is also very simple. In the limited engine room, the hybrid system of dual clutch gearbox is obviously more convenient to arrange than the traditional AT and CVT, and the difficulty of matching and adjustment will be much less.
Moreover, in today's globalization, the parts of the dual-clutch gearbox are all made by international manufacturers. For example, Great Wall Haval has been using Gertrak's wet dual-clutch gearbox since 20 17. Of the 157 parts in this gearbox, only 15 parts are independently produced. At that time, the autonomy was not high, but the dual clutch modules basically used the same products of other brands, such as BMW on UKL platform.
Geely is also a supporter of Gertrak gearbox, but since the acquisition of Volvo, Geely has also absorbed the technology of Volvo dual-clutch gearbox and developed its own 7-speed wet dual-clutch gearbox. Moreover, they also have technical cooperation with Borgwarner, and the gearbox module is also from Schaeffler, Germany. The hardware configuration is the same as that of other automobile manufacturers, especially BYD, Chery and Roewe.
Write it at the end
The use of dual clutch by independent brands can be said to be helpless, but it is also an accidental opportunity. Before there was an AT gearbox, independent brands really had to rely on others to achieve technical support, and their sales were 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, our own brand will develop to a certain height in technology, and we can also see our excellent gearbox manufacturers. Regardless of the trend or helplessness, independent research and development of products is a good thing.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.