GKN Wants Compact Car Makers to Demand More From Their Rear Axles

by Steph Willems

Published: March 14th, 2016

gkn wants compact car makers to demand more from their rear axles

Front-wheel drive, four-cylinder cars have defined the automotive C-segment for decades, but maybe these automakers aren’t dreaming big enough.

That’s the message being sent by global technology supplier GKN Automotive, which really, really wants automakers to buy a lower-cost version of its eAxle for use in affordable compacts. GKN says the unit would allow the segment to more easily offer electric all-wheel drive and plug-in capability.

Developed by the GKN Driveline division, a high-end version of the eAxle exists in the BMW i8, Porsche 918 and Volvo XC90 T8 plug-in.

By putting electric power to the rear wheels of a normally front-drive vehicle, GKN claims their downsized eAxle module would shorten 0-60 miles per hour acceleration times by several seconds, while making a fully-electric driving mode possible. Emissions and fuel consumption could also be reduced significantly.

“GKN leads the industry in eAxle technology, and we want to make plug-in hybrids a simple upgrade for consumers and manufacturers,” stated GKN Automotive President of Engineering Peter Moelgg in a release.

“Innovations by our hardware and software engineers will place the performance and efficiency benefits of plug-ins within the reach of many more motorists.”

The new eAxle weighs 46 pounds, and is able to provide an additional 88 horsepower to the rear wheels of a compatible vehicle. An electromechanically actuated dog clutch would disconnect the electric motor above a certain speed, allowing the conventional engine to power the car via the front axle.

With a 9.3 kWh battery and 81-horsepower electric motor connected to its eAxle, a Volvo XC90 (which weighs at least 1,500 pounds more than your average compact) claims an electric range of about 15 miles.

Are we on the verge of seeing a Honda Civic plug-in? An all-wheel-drive Hyundai Elantra? Will Subaru end up looking like an environment-destroying dinosaur?

As with everything else, that’s for the automakers’ bean counters to decide.

[Image: GKN Automotive]

#2-modeHybrid #All-wheelControl #BMW #C-segment #Emissions #Environment #GKN #Green #HybridVehicles #Porsche #Volvo #Technology

Steph Willems

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2 of 39 comments

Jebby on Mar 15, 2016

My 2006 Highlander Hybrid approves of this message.

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Nickoo on Mar 15, 2016

About darn time. Never made sense to me to package the hybrid drive motor on the front axle rather than the rear.

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