The VW Group pioneered and continues to push dual-clutch technology in Europe. BorgWarner played a key role in this development. Matthew Beecham talked to Dr Bernd Matthes, vice president, BorgWarner Inc and president and general manager, Transmission Systems, BorgWarner Inc, talked about the company’s DCT system and its prospects in new markets.

just-auto: As we understand it, BorgWarner has backed the AMT concept and already demonstrated that the best performance is achieved using a twin-clutch AMT of its own design. Could you talk us through the background to BorgWarner’s research into complete drivelines, especially its dual-clutch concept?

Bernd Matthes: BorgWarner has a very long history dating back to the 1950s, of developing all kinds of automatic transmission systems. Since then, we have been working on innovations and improvements of the system, whether it has been on the entire transmission or on the friction system itself, materials, etc. That knowledge has helped us in making automatic transmissions more efficient. We have also developed strengths in developing tools for automatic transmissions. So these two areas, over the years, have seen a lot of improvements which, in the end, have enabled us to make the dual-clutch transmission an economic reality.

The dual-clutch concept in itself, however, is not new. It was developed in the 1940s but never really took off. It was then picked up again in the 1980s and 1990s by Porsche and Audi for race-drive applications. But they did not introduce it into series production, partly due to the unstable friction and oil system. It was also cost-prohibitive at the time. Since then, major improvements have been made in the friction arena as well as on the electronics and hydraulic side to improve the controls and software.

Together, that enabled us with our initial partner, Volkswagen Group, to bring dual-clutch transmission technology to the market place. It is a very robust, well-received transmission in the marketplace. There are basically no limits to the technology itself. It can be applied everywhere, whatever horsepower or torque the vehicle might have. The technology was mainly driven out of Europe. Indeed, we expect to announce additional European applications later this year.

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just-auto: In addition to its performance and fuel economy benefits, one of the interesting things about this dual-clutch is the fact that it can be ‘tuned’ via software, thereby changing the personality from sporty to limo-comfortable.

Bernd Matthes: Yes. It is a very compelling feature for the automotive industry. It means that given one set of hardware, you can tune the feel just by changing the software to the different needs of vehicle brands in a very easy and cost-effective way.

Besides the tuning factor, the other factor that is very important these days is the fuel efficiency and emissions aspects. It is the most fuel-efficient transmission technology out there that is still providing a substantial gain over any other automatic transmission in the marketplace. That makes it very appealing for customers.

just-auto: What are your growth prospects for this technology in Japan?

Bernd Matthes: You can expect another announcement later his year [2007] with the first production DCT showing up in Japan. So Japan is now starting to get into as well.

just-auto: To date, BorgWarner has announced five programmes with four customers, including Volkswagen/Audi, Getrag, another unnamed European OEM and Shanghai Automotive Industry Co (SAIC) in China. What is your involvement with SAIC?

Bernd Matthes: China is a very interesting market for us. SAIC is applying BorgWarner’s dual-clutch technology to its new [Rover 75-based] Roewe 750[The original Rover 75, on which the Roewe 750 is based, used conventional five-speed automatic gearboxes made by Jatco.].

We are involved in developing and providing five production modules, which include the dual clutch, torsional vibration damper, hydraulic controls with shift actuation, synchronisers and hydraulic pump. The transmission assembly is being jointly developed by Shanghai Automotive Gear Works (SAGW) and GIF, a German engineering company. Transmission assembly production will take place at SAGW in China. Beyond SAIC, we are working with some of the key players in that marketplace on programmes and we are very confident that there will be additional production programmes going into the future.

just-auto: What does GIF bring to the partnership?

Bernd Matthes: They have some experience in transmission testing and base manual transmission design. They do some prototyping for the base transmission design and is supporting SAIC in a specific sector. Meanwhile, we bring all of the DCT systems and volume know-how to the party. So I think it is a very effective combination to make that happen in a fairly short time frame. And I would expect to see more of these types of arrangements as we are moving ahead, in particular for the Chinese marketplace.

just-auto: We’ve seen BorgWarner open a plant in Tulle, France to produce its DCT. If demand reaches your expectations, when will this factory reach full capacity? How will you manage manufacturing expansion?

Bernd Matthes: The factory will reach full capacity in three years’ time. In France, we have centralised on DCT transmission controls. There is another facility in [Arnstadt] Germany where we are specialising in clutch modules and dampers for DCT applications. And this facility is going to be expanded very shortly as well, because we have reached capacity there.

just-auto: How do you see the long-term future for continuously variable transmissions?

Bernd Matthes: I would differentiate by marketplace. The CVT is going to stay as a major player in Japan where there are very specific driving requirements involving slow-moving, stop-and-go traffic. So the combination of gasoline engines with CVT in those traffic conditions makes it a good transmission choice. Driver habits in Japan are different, too. Japanese motorists typically look for a smooth as possible transportation from A to B. And the CVT – because there are no shifts – is a means to achieving that.

So for the Japanese market, I would assume that fitment rates of CVT will possibly grow over the next few years before stabilising. For the rest of the world, however, I do not see CVT making a breakthrough or even staying stable. We have had quite a few programme cancellations in the past in North America and in Europe. The existing CVT programmes in Europe over the next couple of years are going out of production. Nor do I see that CVT will make a breakthrough in China or South Korea. So it is basically a Japanese phenomenon.