Ricardo has announced that it has been awarded a contract by Moscow-based KATE LLC to partner it in the development of a new 7-speed automatic transmission for use in AvtoVAZ cars.
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KATE LLC is an independent company with a background in the development of automatic transmission concepts for special applications. The company has been successful in being selected by AvtoVAZ – Russia’s largest automaker – to develop the new FT702 automatic transmission for use in Lada cars.
This will be the first automatic transmission to be offered by AvtoVAZ and is aimed at helping broaden the appeal of the company’s products in the domestic Russian market which increasingly favours this type of transmission, Ricardo says.
KATE has already built and tested concept demonstrator units, and has started preparation of a new manufacturing facility in Kaliningrad to support volume production.
KATE has sought the assistance of Ricardo as a technology partner with extensive experience of automotive transmission programme delivery to help it complete the design and development of the new transmission.
KATE has now confirmed Ricardo as its engineering partner for mechanical design and development, control software and calibration on the production programme. The objective is to develop a first derivative of the new transmission family for launch in a Lada B/C class car in 2012.
The FT702 transmission will be based on KATE’s original design concept. It will be a compact and low manufacturing cost unit with 175Nm capacity offering a large ratio spread and avoiding the need for a torque converter, hence yielding efficiency and further cost savings, Ricardo maintains.
The programme will be supported by Ricardo staff at the company’s technical facilities in the UK, US and Germany. Ricardo will be responsible for all transmission engineering work through to the end of the production intent prototype phase, including detail analysis and design, software, prototype manufacture, calibration and rig test. After this, Ricardo will support KATE’s industrialisation of the design and maintain development responsibility for control software and calibration until the transmission reaches volume production.
