In what would be a boost for the British automotive industry, Ford is considering whether to produce its next-generation electric transmission (eTrans) systems at its Merseyside Halewood plant, which it used to operate jointly with German company Getrag, but took full control over earlier this year.
Sources in the industry told Sky News that Ford was discussing its proposal to build eTrans systems at Halewood with representatives from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. It is not known if Ford will be seeking support from the UK government, such as subsidies, but this may be likely given the support offered to other companies, such as Nissan, to build electric vehicles (EVs) in the UK.
A Ford spokesman said about its move to EVs:
“Ford is going ‘all-in’ on electrification, with 100% of our passenger vehicles being all-electric and two-thirds of our commercial vehicle sales expected to be all-electric or plug-in hybrid by 2030.”
EVs differ in that a simpler single-speed transmission is sufficient given that e-motors provide consistent torque regardless of revolution speed, although multi-speed transmissions may become more common in future. Despite their simplicity, though, eTrans systems are even more demanding of lubrication due to the high torque at low speeds. For example, Mobil has developed the Mobil Drive range to replace its traditional Mobil ATF range in EVs.
This demonstrates the importance of using appropriate lubrication. At TrAchem, we can help you identify the perfect product for a particular application, so contact our specialist team to get the ideal product at the right price.
