 Electrification
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Did you know that the term 'hybrid' points to two hearts in one chest, but in practice they are hardly spatially united but still have to work together to a high degree? Of course, if the electric motor is crucial in realizing all-
wheel drive, then its place is on the rear axle. And if it works as both a generator and a belt drive motor at the front, then of course both motors are intimately united.
But these are special cases. We want to investigate the question of where this additional drive is located in real hybrid and pure two-wheel drive, which is not barely noticeable due to its weakness. The answer 'gearbox' is
not bad, but would need to be expanded to include the addition 'automatic'. In fact, the company ZF, for example, realized very early on that it could be meant when it comes to driving forward the electrification of conventional
drives.
The picture above already shows that when we say 'automatic' we also mean the dual-clutch transmission. But here we are only concentrating on the not exactly small electric motor on the far left. In this case it is clear that
it is additional there, so it has moved the transmission a little further back, which is not such a problem with a longitudinally mounted front engine with rear-wheel drive. You just have to create the necessary installation
space and shorten the cardan shaft a little.
How does it work with a transverse engine? It would be difficult to accommodate such a longer gearbox. Of course, they started early on to make room for an additional electric drive, e.g. by leaving out all engines longer
than VR6, which had previously existed up to the V8. The VR6 has also become rarer, even the VR5.
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Here is an earlier attempt to build the automatic transmission around the engine to give it more space. But it had nothing to do with electrification and was not pursued any further, probably too expensive a solution. Actually,
it is not necessary when four cylinders can already produce power of over 294 kW (400 hp) and corresponding torque.
So we can cautiously summarize that in a full hybrid drive the electric drive is in the transmission, more precisely in the (former) clutch bell. Unless you realize with it an additional rear-wheel drive. Below an all-wheel hybrid
transmission. With a dual-clutch transmission, extra space must be made for the electric motor.
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The situation is a little simpler if you combine the electric motor with a classic automatic transmission. Then you can leave out the torque converter and its by now multi-disk lock-up clutch. In the end, it was only needed for
starting anyway. The electric motor now takes over that task.
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ZF now even offers a modular system that even includes 48V mild hybrids. The maximum is 160 kW peak and 80 kW continuous power. The electronics are fully integrated. The one shown above is the first example of the
new system. In principle, it should have the same dimensions as its predecessor as an eight-speed automatic.
So they are relying on hybrid drives, do not believe that the combustion engine will be replaced quickly, and think that switching to electric drives in the city will solve the exhaust problems. We will see what the situation
looks like when the subsidies expire. For the suppliers, it is almost a fight for life and death, not only with other suppliers, but also with the manufacturers.
Simply to consider what would be left to produce if there were only pure electric cars. Then a lot of what makes the difference between the brands would be eliminated. If there were to be affordable sporty models, for
example, then they would have to be redefined beforehand and customer interest generated for them.
If you're looking for a reason why manufacturers are taking care of our mobility in all sorts of ways and going well beyond this topic, here you have it. It's about new business areas because the old ones are shrinking in the
long term. And everyone wants to be ahead of the game as early as possible.
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