The start of volume production of Schaeffler’s transmission for electric drives is said to mark a milestone for the company’s E-Mobility business division.

Developed and produced in plants in Herzogenaurach and Bühl (in Germany), the product promises “maximum driving pleasure while providing a high level of comfort and optimum noise performance”.

The transmission is available in both parallel-axis and coaxial versions and offers a high input torque within a compact design envelope. Both variants are fitted in the new Audi e-tron.

The coaxial variant provides rear-wheel drive, while the parallel-axis variant on the front axle enables all-wheel drive.

The core of the entire system is the planetary gear set with a “highly integrated spur-gear differential”
developed by Schaeffler.

Schaeffler (www.schaeffler.com) says that while all-electric driving is gaining ground, electric vehicles will only achieve widespread acceptance if they offer “the same levels of driving comfort and pleasure as their internal-combustion engine counterparts.

“The drive system must not only ensure comfortable driving in an urban environment, it must also be capable of switching to a sporting driving mode with high acceleration.

“The transition from conventional powertrains to hybrid or even all-electric vehicles therefore requires a high level of innovative strength from both automotive manufacturers and their suppliers.”

Jochen Schröder, head of the E-Mobility business division at Schaeffler, said: “The entire team is proud of this innovation that we’ve developed together with Audi.

The two transmissions for Audi have been in volume production since August 2018. For the future, we expect a production volume of up to 250,000 transmission units a year.

Moreover, the modularity of these products is such that they can be adapted to transmissions for other applications.”

Schaeffler says the success story of this transmission continues, with production for a “renowned German vehicle manufacturer” starting this second quarter (up to 40,000 transmissions a year will be produced in the Herzogenaurach plant).