[volkman10]

Volkswagen has developed a new state-of-the-art manual gearbox: the MQ281, as it is known, works efficiently and saves up to five grammes of CO2 per kilometre depending on the engine-gearbox combination.

The new Passat is the first vehicle to be equipped with the MQ281, followed by almost all vehicle classes of the Volkswagen Group.

The trend towards vehicles from the SUV segment with large-diameter wheels places high demands on the gearbox. “With the MQ281, we have developed a highly efficient manual gearbox that reliably meets these demands – and is soon to be introduced into a number of vehicle classes in the volume segment,

The MQ281 has a torque spectrum of 200 to 340 newton metres, which means it completely or partially supersedes the current Volkswagen gearbox designs with the internal designations MQ250 and MQ350 respectively.

-The new gearbox focussed primarily on improving efficiency

This enabled us to design a completely new oil conduction system. Using a variety of oil conduction measures, we are able to achieve a uniform and optimum lubrication of gear wheels and bearings, reducing the amount of lifetime oil required to just 1.5 litres.” To further reduce friction, a bearing concept adapted to the gearbox was developed. The design used friction-minimised bearings with low-contact seals

The MQ281 is produced in-house. Ramp-up is currently underway in the factories in Barcelona (Spain) and Córdoba (Argentina).



Source:

[MileCruncher]

A question that comes to my mind is that why a new MT especially given that 200-340Nm essentially means a mid sized to large sedan and engine capacity of 1.6 - 2.4L ( Petrol / Diesel irrespective). And cars in this range are now mostly driven by automatics.



So why develop a new MT?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

A question that comes to my mind is that why a new MT especially given that 200-340Nm essentially means a mid sized to large sedan and engine capacity of 1.6 - 2.4L ( Petrol / Diesel irrespective). And cars in this range are now mostly driven by automatics.

So why develop a new MT?

There is still a very sizeable market for manual gearboxes out there. Europe and Japan alone still sport a give or take 80% manual gear box market!

Have a look at this data, a bit dated, but on a global level the manual gear box can not be discounted.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/...ion-worldwide/

Jeroen

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

https://www.statista.com/statistics/...ion-worldwide/

Statista says I should pay them $49 to read the article .


So I'm taking your word for it. 80% is a huge number. But can that be divided into segment wise. My understanding is even entry level German luxury marquees come with AT. I know Superb Sportline and Passat ( Both 2.0L IIRC) have MT options. But again how many unit get sold with MT?

[volkman10]

VW To Keep The Manual Gearbox Alive For As Long As There's Demand.

Some people enjoy going back to their roots and changing gear manually, and so long as there is a demand, we will continue to offer them.

Link