Subaru Will Add Electric Cars To Its Lineup

Subaru and Mazda are like twin sons of different mothers. Both are small players in the auto business who have carved out a niche of devoted followers by doing a few things really well. Both are happy to play at the margins while the big boys fight over the middle. Over the years, Subaru has gained a reputation for building reliable cars that offer a high degree of occupant safety. But to keep up with changes in the marketplace, particularly in China, it needs to add electric cars to its offerings.

To make that happen, the company’s CEO, Yasuyuki Yoshinaga, told the press last week that his company will focus first on adding electric motors to its current models rather than creating a separate electric car division as Volkswagen and Mercedes Benz are doing. “If there’s already an attractive Subaru model, for example the XV crossover, and if a customer in Beijing wants one but is only allowed to buy an electric vehicle, if there’s no electric version then he can’t buy it,” Yoshinaga said. “Providing the choice of an EV means the customer can still desire the same Subaru.”

Subaru will invest $1.2 billion in research and development during the next 12 months, most of it aimed at getting a plug-in hybrid version of one of more of its cars into production by the end of 2018. Suppliers like GKN are already building complete EV powertrain components to speed the adoption of electric vehicle technology in the global marketplace and eliminate the need for each manufacture to design, test, and build its own hardware.

General Motors used to have a large stake in Subaru, but sold its shares some years ago to Toyota, which is also behind the curve when it comes to offering electric cars to its customers. It is likely some cross fertilization will take place between the two companies as each seeks to get in on the electric car future. Toyota will invest almost $9 billion in its research and development program in the coming year.

Yoshinaga also said his company expects to have a battery electric car to sell to customers by the beginning of the next decade. He did not indicate whether the BEV Subaru would be an entirely new model or based on an existing car in the company’s lineup. Building a car designed from Day One for electric power is the preferred approach, but developing completely new models takes about 5 years. Subaru may not have time to wait, as it is already late to the cars with plugs party.

Source: Bloomberg

GKN Debuts Fully Integrated Electric Car Drive System In Shanghai

Time was when car companies made cars. They made the engines, transmissions, and axles. They made the sheet metal and the seats. Just about the only thing they didn’t make themselves was the windshield and the rest of the glass. Today, those companies are more assemblers than they are manufacturers, especially when it comes to electric and electrified cars. Someone else makes the electric motor. Someone else makes the battery. Another company makes the battery management system. GKN is one of the world’s largest OEM suppliers. Lately, most of its focus has been on building an electric car drive system that manufacturers can buy ready made and install at their own factories.

The advantage for car companies is they don’t have to spend precious resources to develop proprietary electric car propulsion systems. GKN has done all the R&D. All the manufacturer has to do is tell GKN how many units it wants and when. First presented publicly at the  Shanghai auto show, the GKN product is the first to use a fully integrated design that packages the electric motor, power inverter and eAxle reduction gearbox into a single housing. Putting all the pieces in one unit makes it easier for manufacturers to integrate the drive components into its vehicles.

Called the eDrive system, is about 15% smaller, 10% lighter, more efficient than electric car drive systems that use separate components. Building one product for several manufacturers means GKN can spread the cost of development over more units, which brings economies of scale into play and permits lower costs than conventional drive systems. Lower electric car prices are good for everyone, especially consumers.

The close proximity of the components results in significant improvements in both mechanical and electrical efficiency, GKN says. The optimized packaging also helps reduce noise and vibration. GKN designed in the necessary cooling from the start, leading to further efficiencies in the system.

China is expected to be a major electric car market and GKN expects its eDrive system to satisfy the needs of many Chinese manufacturers. It predicts that its Chinese joint venture — Shanghai GKN HUAYU Driveline Systems (SDS) — will produce over 1 million eDrive units per year by 2025. Peter Moelgg, CEO of GKN Driveline says: “We constantly work in partnership with our customers to make our technology smaller and lighter, while retaining high performance and efficiency. Our eDrive concept being presented in Shanghai is a perfect example of this, showcasing GKN’s expertise in complete mechanical and electrical systems that will enable the next-generation of electrified vehicles.”

GKN has a wealth of experience with electric drivetrains. Since 2002 and has produced nearly 400,000 eDrive units at its factories in Europe and Japan. The company was instrumental in the development of the powertrain for the Porsche 918 Spyder and the two speed eAxle in the BMW i8. It also supplies the eAxle used in the Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid.

Source: Electric Cars Report

GKN Driveline develops new e-drive system for PHEVs; starts production on global platform in 2019

GKN Driveline has developed a new, complete electric drive system for plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs). The system will start production in 2019 on a global platform from a European vehicle manufacturer.

Tighter integration of electric drivelines improves system efficiency and gives automakers more packaging and assembly options. The new module integrates a water-cooled electric motor and inverter with a single speed eAxle reduction gearbox. The system generates a maximum 65 kW of power and can deliver up to 2,000 N·m (1,475 lb-ft) of torque to the rear wheels.

The complete eDrive module measures 300 mm high and 325 mm wide and weighs 54 kg (119 lbs), making it around 20 mm narrower and 2.5 kg (5.5 lbs) lighter than comparable systems. Despite significant differences in the acoustic signatures of the inverter, motor and gearbox, the overall system delivers a smooth, near silent electric driving experience.

This is the first all-in-one eDrive system to replace external wiring with a bus bar and to eliminate unnecessary mechanical interfaces. The result is an eDrive system with higher power density that is simpler to install.

—Peter Moelgg, Chief Executive of GKN Driveline’s eDrive and AWD business

GKN has been advancing the development of eAxle technology since 2002 and has produced more than 300,000 units at its manufacturing facilities in Europe and Japan. The company was awarded Official Porsche Technology Partner status for its contribution to the plug-in hybrid Porsche 918 Spyder program.

GKN launched the world’s first two-speed eAxle in the plug-in hybrid BMW i8 and also supplies the eAxle on the Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine PHEV program.

A new generation of vehicles is making hybridization integral to platform strategies. These complex drivelines require the higher levels of system integration that GKN eAxle electric drive modules deliver. By pioneering the development of these systems, GKN is positioned to help automakers turn electric propulsion into exciting new hybrid all-wheel drive experiences.

—GKN Driveline Chief Executive Phil Swash

GKN eAxle Brings Supercar Technology To Plug-in Hybrid Cars

Whether we realize it or not, there are a lot of companies that supply major components to the automobile industry. As more and more cars adopt plug-in hybrid powertrains, the components that make them go are increasingly supplied by outside manufacturers. One such supplier is GKN, a European company that specializes in components for plug-in hybrid cars. Its products have been featured in some of the world’s most impressive supercars like the Porsche 918 Hybrid and the BWW i8 plug-in hybrid sports car. They are also found in the new Volvo XC90 T8 plug-in hybrid.

Now GKN wants to take what it learned from designing drive systems for those two cars and apply it to improving the powertrains of popularly priced cars, the ones that real people use every day. Its eAxle system will enable those vehicles to offer buyers a plug-in hybrid option with improved performance and a reduction in CO2 emissions of more than 50%, according to Next Gen Transportation News.

An evolution of the system GKN designed for the Porsche 918 Spyder, the single speed eAxle weighs less than 50 lbs. A two stage geartrain with a gear ratio of 12.5 provides up to 1,475 lb-ft of torque. It provides up to 87 horsepower for electric only driving and balances the torque applied to each wheel when used in all wheel drive mode. An electro-mechanical dog clutch disconnects the electric motor at higher vehicle speeds. An open coupling minimizes rotating losses when disengaged.

GKN says a typical small plug-in hybrid has about 134 horsepower from its gasoline engine. Adding a GKN eAxle with 87 additional horsepower available can improve 0 to 60 times by several seconds.  Front-wheel drive vehicle platforms can integrate GKN’s eAxle modules into the vehicle’s rear assembly to provide a combination of plug-in hybrid and electric all-wheel-drive functionalities. The eAxle can also be combined with GKN’s eTwinster torque vectoring technology to further improve driving dynamics.

You may not recognize the name GKN, but the chances are that if you drive a plug-in hybrid car in the future, GKN will be an important part of the powertrain in your car.

All Wheel Drive Adds Safety And Performance With No Mileage Penalty

Time was when all wheel drive systems increased fuel consumption by 10 to 20 percent and sometimes more. But today’s e-axles — components that use electric motors to turn the wheels instead of driveshafts and mechanical differentials — are making all wheel systems that doesn’t eat up a lot of extra gasoline more affordable.

We always think that manufacturers makes most of the components in the cars they sell, but in fact, all car makers rely on outside suppliers for major systems. Some build dashboards, seats and interior trim. Others supply wheels, tires, and brakes. GKN is a large supply house that specializes in electronically controlled electric axles for passenger cars and SUVs. Digital controls permit the amount of power supplied by each electric motor to be precisely controlled. That can add stability to a family sedan on slippery roads or make a sports car turn in more aggressively on the track.

Electronic axles from GKN are featured in such diverse cars as the Jeep Renegade, Fiat 500X, Land Rover Evoque, Porsche 918 Spyder, BMW i8 and Volvo XC90 plug-in hybrid. The upcoming Ford Focus RS, Lincoln Continental and Cadillac XT5 will also uses electric all wheel drive systems provided by GKN. “The new systems reduce the impact AWD has on fuel economy,” GKN’s Ray Kuczera told the Detroit Free Press recently.

E-axles permit advanced torque vectoring. That’s a very popular buzz word in the automotive world these days, but there are two vastly different kinds of torque vectoring systems. One applies brake pressure to any wheel that is experiencing slippage. Kucera says such systems are wasteful, because they allow a driven wheel to receive more power than it can handle. Some of that excess power then has to be turned into heat by the brake. His company’s electronic all wheel drive system sends only the amount of power each individual wheel can handle without spinning and no more.

GKN systems are significantly lighter and less bulky than the mechanical systems they replace. They can even be programmed to shut off completely when not needed but reactivate themselves instantly when requried. That helps limit any fuel economy penalty from having all wheel drive. Robert Willig, president of GKN’s driveline business in the Americas, says “E-axles are the key to AWD growth going forward, even past the upcoming fuel economy requirements.” It’s entirely possible that the car you drive will have an electronic all wheel drive system in the very near future.