Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

Chapter 672 AT+CVT VS DSG, Nanshan Gearbox takes action again

After BYD internally thought clearly about the impact of dual-clutch gearboxes, it officially announced on its official Weibo that it had developed the first dual-clutch gearbox of its own brand in China.

Originally, Nanshan Group stopped, and with the efforts of Volkswagen, Spring City Automobile Group, Modu Automobile Group, etc., the topic of Volkswagen DSG slowly cooled down.

But now BYD's Weibo has brought up the topic of DSG again.

This made Fondel very depressed.

"Our engineering team made a preliminary analysis and believed that BYD's dual-clutch gearbox is definitely not as good as ours."

"Although the structure of the dual-clutch gearbox is simpler than the AT gearbox, the threshold is relatively low. From a structural point of view, it is a combination of two manual gearboxes."

"And the dual-clutch gearbox does not have as much patent protection as the AT gearbox."

"However, when a dual-clutch starts, it is necessary to control the clutch to receive power. This is a science. If the clutch is engaged too fast, it is easy to falter and the clutch wears out."

"If the engagement is slow, the clutch life will be longer, but the vehicle speed cannot keep up with the rotation speed. The subjective feeling of the vehicle will be half a beat slower, which is very unnatural. It will also be painful to follow the vehicle in traffic jams."

"Our company has been studying this for so many years but has not completely solved this problem. I don't believe that BYD can solve it so easily."

Dr. Hassan is the quality director of Modu Volkswagen and was previously in charge of the gearbox business. So after Vondel saw the news that BYD had developed a dual-clutch gearbox, he asked Hassan to confirm it.

"I saw that BYD's transmission advertises that it shifts gears quickly. What do you think of this?"

Vondel felt it was necessary to get to the bottom of the situation before he stumbled again.

"Fast shifting can be said to be the inherent advantage of dual-clutch. Our DSG is promoted with fast shifting and uninterrupted power as its main selling points, and it has quickly been recognized by automotive media and driving enthusiasts around the world."

"But the faster the dual-clutch transmission shifts, the greater the wear pressure on the internal components and the durability will be reduced. This is a contradiction that requires a trade-off."

"And to achieve accurate shifting, it needs to accumulate data through a large number of road tests, and write software based on changes in road conditions and driver habits to match the optimal shifting logic."

"This requires automobile companies to have rich data accumulation, and manufacturers with long car manufacturing experience will have an advantage."

"BYD's own automatic transmission is a big gap. It lacks talent and data. If it comes directly to the dual-clutch stage, it is obviously impossible to do better than us."

"If Nanshan Transmission comes up with dual-clutch, they have a lot of experience in the production of AT transmissions, which may pose a threat to us."

Hassan's judgment made Fondel relieved.

The emergence of a Nanshan Group in China is difficult enough. If this BYD is as powerful, then the future life will really be unbearable.

"Since you think BYD's dual-clutch is not very popular, why did they give up the AT gearbox of Nanshan Transmission?"

Vondel asked a question that left Hassan speechless.

Why did Volkswagen abandon the AT gearbox and choose to develop its own dual-clutch gearbox?

The situation faced by BYD is actually similar to Volkswagen, right?

Although Nanshan Transmission's products are good, there are so many independent brands using them.

When production capacity is insufficient, will BYD be given priority in obtaining supplies?

this is a big problem.

In addition, the overall structure of the dual-clutch transmission is somewhat similar to the manual transmission, except that it has an additional clutch assembly and shift actuator.

Overall, the dual-clutch gearbox has a simple structure and has the lowest cost among all automatic gearboxes.

Furthermore, the working principle of the dual-clutch gearbox is somewhat similar to that of manual transmission vehicles. Compared with the AT gearbox, it has the characteristics of high transmission efficiency and less energy loss.

This can reduce fuel consumption to a certain extent.

As if feeling Hassan's resentment, Fondel changed the subject a little awkwardly and said: "Since BYD's dual-clutch is not a threat, we don't have to deal with it."

"Otherwise, if we continue to do this, the popularity of DSG will rise again, which will not be good for us."

Volkswagen, which has suffered a big loss, now least wants to see media coverage of DSG.

Whether it's good or bad, I don't want to see it.

It is best to treat it coldly at this time and give Volkswagen a few months of buffer time.

However, Vondel wanted to calm down, but his competitors did not.

Just after the release of BYD's dual-clutch gearbox, Nanshan Group officially held a meeting on the matter.

"Mr. Cao, all domestic independent brands are using our AT and MT gearboxes."

"And most of them still use our engines. In this case, the homogeneity of everyone's powertrains is more obvious."

"Car companies such as BYD and Chery who want to be number one in the industry are thinking of developing their own engines and gearboxes."

"BYD already had its own engine before, so it's not very strange to come up with a gearbox now."

Ji Hua didn't seem so irritated because of BYD's actions.

This day was something that had been anticipated for a long time.

And what is certain is that BYD will not be the last company to produce its own gearboxes.

However, there is a big difference between gearbox and gearbox.

"What Mr. Ji said makes sense. Dual-clutch gearboxes appeared very early, and the relevant patents have basically expired."

“Coupled with the simple structure, the cost is also relatively low.”

"It's not surprising that BYD has chosen the same technical direction as Volkswagen."

"But I think that after their new models start to be equipped with their own engines and transmissions on a large scale, their sales may start to decline."

"Don't look at last year when they ranked fourth in the country, with sales reaching 700,000."

"But it is very likely that this data will be their peak in the next ten years."

"In the future, if there are more models, sales may not be as good as they are now."

Zeng Tingting was not very nervous either.

The technical level of Nanshan gearbox is not so easy to catch up with.

Even the powerful Volkswagen caused a lot of mess when it came to DSG. If BYD could handle it so easily, she wouldn't believe it.

If BYD had developed its own MT gearbox, it might have done well.

But now consumers no longer value MT gearboxes, and more than 80% of sales on the market are contributed by automatic gearbox models.

"The possibility that Mr. Zeng mentioned really exists."

"Even if 700,000 is not the peak, this year's sales are likely to be the peak in the next ten years."

"BYD still uses a dry clutch this time, which is more prone to problems."

Ji Hua, as a gearbox expert, has naturally done some research on dual-clutch.

"This dry clutch gearbox is cheap enough, so BYD is preparing to focus on dry clutch gearboxes like Volkswagen."

Zeng Tingting can be said to have a very thorough understanding of BYD's ideas.

"Yes, a dry clutch gearbox does not require a special oil pump, and the structure is much simpler."

"But the heat dissipation of the dry dual clutch relies entirely on air cooling, that is, air is taken in from the small ventilation holes. But if the speed is not high, there will not be enough air cooling, so the clutch is prone to high temperatures and its service life will be short. .”

"It can be said that cars using dry dual-clutch gearboxes are only suitable for use on non-congested road sections, but except for township and rural car users, who can drive on smooth road sections every day?"

Ji Hua spread his hands and looked completely disdainful of the dry clutch gearbox.

"Furthermore, if the ventilation holes allow air to enter, water will enter, and of course air with high humidity will also enter."

"This will cause two problems. One is the clutch rusting, and the other is the flywheel rusting."

"A rusty clutch will produce abnormal noise, and the flywheel is no exception. The flywheel is the power output end of the engine and belongs to the engine. Only when the clutch is pressed against the flywheel can power be obtained."

"So some car owners who use their cars in areas where there is a lot of rain and the road surface is prone to water accumulation often replace the clutch and flywheel assemblies because of the persistent abnormal noise caused by rust."

"Whether BYD is trying to reduce costs or get rid of its dependence on us, it will definitely stumble in the end."

After hearing Ji Hua finish these questions, Zeng Tingting added next to her: "I heard that Great Wall Motors and Geely Automobile both have the idea of ​​developing their own dual-clutch gearboxes."

"If BYD can stumble on the dual-clutch gearbox, it may make other independent brands wake up and use our gearbox obediently in the future."

As the world's leading gearbox company, there is no doubt about the product quality of Nanshan Gearbox.

There has been no large-scale quality defect for so many years, which can be said to be very rare.

However, precisely because Nanshan Transmission's products are so excellent, some people feel that the threshold for transmission is not that high.

I always want to challenge myself.

Only after finally hitting the wall can I wake up.

"Since everyone thinks that the gearbox developed by BYD is not a threat, it can even help us wake up some brands."

"Then let them do it. We don't have to show any special opinions."

Ji Hua and Zeng Ting both said that, so Cao Yang naturally stopped being entangled.

BYD has expanded itself, and if you want to make trouble, then go ahead and make trouble.

Just like Chery Automobile, they tried hard to develop a high-end brand Qoros, but ended up losing money.

It is better to develop mid- to low-level cars honestly and do well in this market, which can bring surprises to people.

"Mr. Cao, although BYD's own transmission will have very little impact on us, I think we can take this opportunity to launch our CVT transmission."

"In this case, everyone will think that we responded to BYD with a CVT gearbox, which is cheaper than an AT gearbox, because BYD developed the gearbox."

When Ji Hua said this, Cao Yang couldn't help but ask: "Has the problem of the CVT steel belt been solved?"

Nanshan Transmission has been researching CVT for more than a day or two. The main reason why it has not been officially launched on the market is that the problem of steel belts has not been completely solved.

The key structures of the current CVT are the tapered wheels and steel belts or steel chains.

Both technologies are registered patents, the steel belt is in the hands of Bosch, and the steel chain is in the hands of Schaeffler.

If you want to bypass other people's patents and ensure the performance of the steel belt or chain, it will be a test of Nanshan's gearbox.

In the end, Nanshan Gearbox chose the steel belt structure as the breakthrough point. Jihua and Nanshan Special Steel conducted many tests before finally finding a suitable steel belt.

Now that it has basically reached mass production level, it can naturally be launched at an appropriate time.

"Yes, it's been resolved."

"In the past, if I bought steel belts from Bosch, they would sell them for more than 800 yuan per steel belt. This was simply a money grab."

"Now that we produce it ourselves, the cost of a steel strip is less than 200 yuan."

Nanshan Group has a very direct competitive relationship with Bosch.

Therefore, our own CVT gearbox must not use Bosch steel belts.

The situation at Schaeffler is similar. Competition in the field of bearings has reached a fever pitch.

Therefore, even if cost is not considered, from the perspective of supply security, the steel strips still need to be produced by Nanshan Group itself.

Even because of this problem, the production time of CVT was delayed by more than a year.

"Now that CVT technology has matured, let's officially release it to the outside world."

"When the time comes, small CVT, medium CVT and large CVT will be released at the same time, giving various car companies more choices."

"They always think our 6AT is too expensive."

The CVT gearbox is much simpler than the 6AT gearbox. It only requires a steel belt and two variable-diameter driving wheels to achieve infinite transmission, while the 6AT gearbox requires a hydraulic torque converter, planetary gear set, clutch and Complex components such as electronic control systems.

Therefore, the production cost of CVT is much cheaper than that of 6AT, which can better meet the needs of some self-owned brand low-end models.

And the CVT gearbox can bring better smoothness and fuel economy, which is also a major advantage.

Of course, this is only compared to 6AT.

If you go with 8AT and 10AT, you may not have these advantages.

Of course, if there are advantages, there will naturally be disadvantages.

For example, the dynamic response is relatively slow.

Since the CVT gearbox does not have fixed gears, when accelerating quickly or overtaking, the engine speed will increase but the vehicle will not accelerate significantly. This is called the rubber band effect.

Although some high-level CVT gearboxes can improve this problem by simulating gears or adding gears, they are still not comparable to 6AT gearboxes.

Furthermore, the CVT gearbox cannot carry large torque.

Since the CVT gearbox mainly relies on steel belts to transmit power, the steel belts can easily slip or break when subjected to large torques.

Therefore, CVT gearboxes are generally not suitable for use on large-displacement or high-power models.

After Nanshan gearbox has a CVT, it can focus on the combination of AT+CVT in the future, which will definitely beat Volkswagen's DSG.

Not to mention BYD’s dual-clutch.

…

Nanshan Group unified their opinions, and the official WeChat accounts of Nanshan Transmission and Nanshan Group soon officially released a promotional video for the CVT gearbox.

As the largest transmission company in China, Nanshan Transmission's release of CVT has attracted considerable attention in the industry.

Especially Volkswagen and BYD Auto, they are more sensitive to this matter.

"Mr. Wang, I feel that this move by Nanshan Transmission is aimed at our dual-clutch gearbox."

"Many brands previously complained that the price of Nanshan gearboxes was too expensive. Now they have launched a cheaper CVT, which can directly suppress our dual-clutch gearboxes."

After Liang Chuanqing saw the news about the CVT of Nanshan Transmission, he came to Wang Fu's office immediately.

He feels that this matter still needs to be taken seriously.

If the Nanshan gearbox has other counterattacks, it will be troublesome.

After all, BYD's current models all still use Nanshan transmission products.

As long as the other party finds a random reason and says that the supply is unavailable, BYD's sales this year may be cut in half.

After all, even if their own dual-clutch gearbox is developed, some matching development will be required to install it.

If you load the car in a hurry, various problems will eventually arise.

This is a situation Liang Chuanqing doesn't want to see.

"Nanshan Transmission has not released new products in the past two years. Now it has released a CVT. It seems that they have been working on CVT in the past two years."

"However, it is worrying that there is no movement at the Nanshan gearbox."

"If they release a CVT gearbox at this time, I'm not worried anymore."

When Wang Fu said this, Liang Chuanqing was a little confused.

What does it mean?

As if sensing Liang Chuanqing's confusion, Wang Fu further explained: "Based on the relationship between our two families, Nanshan Group will not easily resort to such tactics as restricting supply."

"But our gearbox does have a bad start, so others need to take some action."

"The release of a brand new CVT gearbox now is a response from Nanshan Gearbox."

"With this response, it basically means that Nanshan Group will not do anything specifically against us."

Hearing what Wang Fu said, Liang Chuanqing breathed a sigh of relief.

With the size of Nanshan Group, if we want to do something against BYD, it will be really troublesome.

However, BYD is relieved, but Volkswagen is not relieved at all.

"Vondel, I think Nanshan Group's release of CVT this time is aimed at our DSG."

"It's just that this time they are attacking from the front and no more petty tricks."

"With an attack like this, we can't say anything."

Strauss talked to Fondel a little depressed.

Volkswagen tried every means to reduce the popularity of DSG, but soon BYD released a dual-clutch gearbox, and everyone wanted to take out Volkswagen's DSG for comparison, and then the popularity couldn't be reduced.

Within two days, Nanshan Transmission released a new CVT product.

This means that the gearbox industry has suddenly become lively.

This has become very lively. How could the popularity of DSG be low?

After all, whether it is BYD's dual-clutch transmission or Nanshan Transmission's CVT, media from all walks of life can't help but compare them together.

Even many car companies will start to understand the advantages and disadvantages of CVT, and consider which models of their future models will use CVT gearboxes.

"Nanshan Transmission's current AT+CVT strategy is very lethal."

"In the field of AT, their 6AT, 8AT, and 10AT are all very classic and have left a very good impression on everyone."

"With the CVTs that are being developed now, everyone will subconsciously feel that the quality is good."

"Coupled with the fact that CVT is cheaper than AT, it is estimated that more car companies will consider purchasing products from Nanshan Transmission in the future."

Fondel was a little helpless.

He felt that he had worked very hard, but something unplanned always happened.

As for the current DSG, he simply doesn't dare to compare it with the Nanshan gearbox.

But just because they don't compare doesn't mean that the media won't compare either.

"So Nanshan Group is a disaster."

"In the future, we have to find a way to get the United States to impose more sanctions on the Nanshan Group, otherwise our life in China will not be easy."

In his mind, he couldn't help but wonder why the United States didn't directly sanction the Nanshan Group.

"Nanshan Group is in the spotlight, let's avoid it for now."

"After this storm passes, we can think of other solutions."

"China is so big, there are always some people's news that will attract everyone's attention."

Vondel reluctantly chose to be a coward.

The situation is stronger than the people. If we continue to stir up the topic of comparing CVT and DSG, Volkswagen may not necessarily gain any benefits in the end.

On the contrary, the quality issue of DSG will be raised again.

This is a situation that Vondel really doesn't want to see.

However, Volkswagen is acting like an ostrich, and other car companies are different.

In particular, Changan Automobile, which has never planned to develop its own transmission, actively contacted Changan Automobile after seeing the CVT, hoping to make Changan Automobile's new model the first car equipped with a CVT equipped with Nanshan Transmission.

This will definitely be beneficial for future publicity.

"Mr. Yi, the price of a small CVT can be similar to that of a 4MT. This is basically the lowest price in the industry."

"The price of a medium-sized CVT is about the same as that of a 5MT, while a large CVT is about the same price as a 6MT."

"It can be said that any CVT product is cheaper than the 6AT."

"If Changan Automobile is willing to be equipped with a CVT, you can communicate with Nanshan Transmission and Nanshan Engine, and we can provide you with the best combination."

Except for mini-cars, Changan Automobile's other passenger cars use Nanshan Group's engines and gearboxes.

This actually facilitates the matching of the engine and gearbox.

Because Nanshan Group directly helped with the matching.

With just a few simple modifications to the brackets, models equipped with CVT can be launched within this year.

This speed is obviously very acceptable.