Volkswagen Group Components develops gearbox for all its MEB-based EVs

VW Group Components has announced that it has designed a transmission system for all the electric vehicles based on the MEB platform. According to the manufacturer, the new product is notable for its compactness and its operating versatility – i.e. it can handle different situations on the road with a single gear. To optimize the design of this gear shifting unit, VW engineers utilized a 2-stage construction with 2 small cogs instead of one larger component.

All drive solutions for e-cars based on the MEB – including the 1-speed gearbox – are made at the production facility in Kassel. Other crucial parts are produced at the three other facilities of the company. Thanks to this unique transmission system, the e-drive motor in the ID.3, VW’s first mass-produced e-car, generates the max torque of 310 Nm constantly over a wide range of speeds. The e-car can pick up a max speed of 160 km/h at a maximum of 16,000 rpm.

After the Dieselgate story hit hard VW’s sales across the world, the company made significant investments in the development of e-cars, not only to strengthen its positions in environmentally-friendly automotive technologies, but also to revive its reputation. One of the main challenges for VW engineers during the development of this EV gearbox is to ensure absolutely noiseless operation, as the level of noise plays a significant role for comfort of the driver and other passengers. Thus, all elements of this 1-speed unit had to be produced with the utmost precision to prevent any additional noises. Each e-drive system is exposed not only to comprehensive performance tests, but also to noise level checks.

VW plans to invest more than $30 bln into the development of EVs by 2023, which is approximately equal to the combined profit of VW for several years. Analytics of the German company predict that in a few years the brand will significantly increase its EV sales revenue.