Car manufacturing encompasses a diverse set of fields—from the production of materials such as rubber, glass, metals, leather, and plastic to technologies in mechanical, electrical, and chemical engineering as well as IT, the finished car is an amalgam of human progress in multitudes of areas. Realistically, a single car company cannot oversee all these areas in operation. Thus the importance of competitive and knowledgeable parts suppliers: without good parts, a good car cannot be made.
In the past, parts suppliers were just producers-on-demand, precisely supplying the parts as requested by the car manufacturer. But with the accelerating modulization of car parts, parts producers have evolved to rival the car companies not only in size but also in technological expertise. Often, these suppliers are the ones to lead the innovation and application of new technology, intensifying their collaboration with the car manufacturers. Indeed, their technological expertise has led them to directly participate in the development of new car models in recent years.
Of all the parts, though, the transmission is considered the most complex, requiring the highest order of competence from its suppliers; not only is the transmission complex structurally, but it also requires careful attention to aspects like power transmission efficiency, fuel efficiency, size, and operability.
The World’s Only Producer of All Transmission Types
As the most reputable powertrain producer in Korea, Hyundai Transys is featuring a diverse portfolio of powertrains to stand out in the global transmission market. The company was founded as a result of the 2019 merger of Hyundai Powertech, which produced AT (Automatic Transmission) and CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission), and Hyundai Dymos, which produced MT (Manual Transmission) and DCT (Dual-clutch Transmission). The merger of these two Hyundai affiliates was executed with hopes of increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of production, sales, and R&D of transmissions. The early returns appear promising. Hyundai Transys has now become the only company in the world capable of producing all types of transmissions in-house, and its diverse full lineup of AT, MT, DCT, CVT, and AMT (Automated Manual Transmission) is fueling the company’s vigorous activity in the global arena.
The incredibly diverse product portfolio is undoubtedly one of Hyundai Transys’s biggest strengths. Transmissions for front-wheel-drive, rear-wheel-drive, or large commercial vehicles fill out the catalog’s prominent categories; transmissions and reducers for special-class vehicles like K1A1 Tanks, ITX Saemaeul trains, KTX trains, and HEMU-430 are also noteworthy. But by far the most demand-heavy model is the front-wheel-drive automatic transmission. Available in 4, 6, and 8-speeds, the model is widely used in vehicles small and large, from Kia’s city car Morning to Hyundai’s flagship sedan Grandeur. The 8-speed rear-wheel-drive transmission is also available for premium models. Possessing excellent power transmission efficiency and meeting rigorous NVH standards, the 8-speed RWD transmission is a state-of-the-art technology applied to Kia Stinger and Mohave, as well as Genesis G70, G80, and G90.
Boasting the convenience of the automatic and the advantages of the manual transmission, the 7-speed DCT is installed mostly to small and compact models: Hyundai i30, Tucson, and Veloster, as well as Kia K3 GT, Seltos, and Sportage feature this transmission. These cars have excellent drivability as one of their main selling points and thus are a perfect fit for the 7-speed DCT. Transys’s new 8-speed DCT, with performance and efficiency improvements over the 7-speed, will soon undergo mass production.
Meanwhile, the highly fuel-efficient new CVT is currently applied to the 2nd-gen K3. By optimizing the gear shift patterns to the driver’s intent and driving conditions, the new CVT boasts high responsiveness and performance that provides a fun driving experience. It also comes with the first metal chain belt in its segment, securing improvements in both efficiency and durability.
The catalog features manual transmissions for cars, SUVs, buses, and commercial trucks, available in 5, 6, 10, and 12-speeds. The company’s know-how in building such a wide variety of transmissions is becoming useful in recent years, when global trends for sustainable transport are resulting in increasingly rigorous environmental standards. Powertrains for hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrids, electric vehicles, and hydroelectric vehicles are prominent newcomers to Transys’s lineup.
This diversified portfolio clearly stands out among the relatively one-dimensional catalogs of the competitors. Of course, as it is so in every industry standout, there is diligent work under the hood that makes the company’s rising status possible. We visited Hyundai Transys’s Powertrain R&D Center in Hwasung, South Korea, to discuss these efforts with the engineers on site.
Hyundai Transys’s R&D Central, Powertrain Lab
The interview includes four engineers who are engaged in developing future powertrains: Senior Engineers Kim TaeHoon and Myung SeungMin, the developers of hybrid powertrains; Senior Engineer Park SangMoon, responsible for quality and reliability control; and Senior Engineer Kim JuYoung, responsible for performance testing. Together they discussed the development process of transmissions as well as the new transmission being readied for mass production.
Q. What is the development process of transmissions?
Kim TaeHoonㅣ First, we got to establish a schedule. We set the target performance threshold of the new transmission being developed, and that target allows us to set the intermediate tasks in the calendar. By in large, there’s the designing stage, and there’s the performance testing stage. More specifically, those stages may be divided into design & interpretation, initial development, testing & proofing, and preparation for mass production. The finished transmission is the result of these stages in sequence.
Q. What is the difference between designing and testing?
Myung SeungMinㅣ Well, designing is about conceiving and planning a product. Testing is about ensuring the performance and durability standards of the already conceived product. For example, during testing, we subject the transmission to several rigorous tests and make improvements to ensure that it is durable enough to hold up even during heavy use by the customers.
Park SangMoonㅣ Performance testing comprises three steps of prototype development, design verification, and product verification. Each step can take from as little as four to six months to about a year. After that, we subject the product to durability tests and find rooms of improvement by using the test data. This cycle of testing and amending iterates many, many times.
Q. How are the R&D roles divided between Transys and car manufacturers?
Kim TaeHoonㅣ The development process varies with the transmission type and the car manufacturer. For ATs used by the Hyundai Motor Group, the Namyang Institute does the designing and prototype development, and the Transys engineers enter the fray at the performance testing stage. For foreign manufacturers, though, we often take up the entire responsibility from initial design to mass production. We’re trying to be more independent in our R&D efforts so that we can share more ideas with the car manufacturers and even propose to them completely developed products.
The Excellence of the New EV Reducer
Last December, Hyundai Transys hosted a year-end R&D convention to share and commemorate the fruits of the 2019 calendar year. The event showcased developments on 31 powertrains that were the focus of the R&D year. Electric powertrains like 6 and 8-speed ATs for large hybrid FWD vehicles shined in one corner; 6-speed AT for mid-size FWD vehicles, 8-speed AT for large FWD vehicles, 12-speed AMT for commercial vehicles were placed in the other. But amidst dozens of transmissions, the product that best captivated the engineers was the 3-in-1 Integrated EV Powertrain System developed independently by Hyundai Transys, which integrates the reducer, motor, and inverter into a single-body powertrain.
Q. With the new EV powertrain system, Hyundai Transys has become the only company in the world to make all types of powertrains. What was behind the decision to develop EV reducers?
Myung SeungMinㅣ The global powertrain market is fast changing. Our market competitors like ZF and Aisin, and even companies who used to specialize in motors, are trying to expand their product ranges to include EV motors and reducers. In order to stay competitive, we also had to expand to EVs. Thankfully, our existing know-how in building internal combustion engines translated well to this new development.
Q. What exactly does the reducer do?
Park SangMoonㅣ The reducer is a type of transmission used for electric vehicles. A motor has a significantly faster RPM than an internal combustion engine, so applying a standard transmission to an electric vehicle is like trying to peg a square into a circular hole. The reducer is a transmission tailored to the motor’s characteristics such that the generated power can be more effectively delivered to the wheels. It’s called a “reducer” because it literally reduces the RPM of the motor to generate higher torque.
Q. What are the characteristics of the new EV reducer?
Myung SeungMinㅣ In the past, the motor and the reducer were separate parts. And the inverter, which delivers and controls the electricity to the motor, was also separately placed in the engine room. This arrangement inevitably results in long electric cables, not to mention separate casings and coolers for each part. Not only does that make the car heavier, but it also makes the powertrain take up too much space in the vehicle. The new 3-in-1 Integrated EV Powertrain combines the motor, inverter, and reducer in a single system. It’s compact and cost-efficient; the EVs equipped with it will not only be cheaper but also have a lot of space for more efficient designs. The target performance threshold was set at the max output of 150 kW, the max torque of 350 Nm, and the max speed of 16,000 RPM. We also tried hard to make the system’s central technologies independently ours and achieve similar reliability standards as those of our competitors.
Q. Given the growth of the electric powertrain market, is Transys making any specific preparations?
Myung SeungMinㅣ Our defining product is still transmissions for internal combustion engines, but we’re trying hard to make our mark in the electric powertrain market as well, diligently improving the EV reducer’s performance and quality. Our facility is now equipped with a new testing environment fit for electric powertrains, and efforts are underway to establish new testing protocols for EVs and hybrid vehicles.
Kim JuYoungㅣ The headquarters are absolutely serious in making the necessary financial and human resource investments for developing electric powertrains. The staff for EV powertrain R&D has been steadily increasing in size, and the facility has been seeing massive renovations to accommodate electric powertrain research. In the new testing building set for completion in 2020, most of the facility is going to be devoted to electric powertrain testing.
More Compact Than Ever: The 6-Speed AT for Large FWD Hybrid Vehicles
The 6-speed AT for Large FWD Hybrid Vehicles (A6FLH), also independently developed by Hyundai Transys, was also unveiled in the year-end R&D convention. The new model is quite a bit more compact than its older counterpart, allowing greater freedom in vehicle design. In addition, it has increased the gear ratio to improve upon performance and efficiency. The engineers in the interview were enthusiastic in sharing the backstory of the new transmission.
Q. What is the difference between A6FLH and its older counterpart model?
Kim TaeHoonㅣ AT for hybrid vehicles is an integrated system of the transmission and the electric motor. As such, it cannot help but be physically longer than a standard AT. The length becomes an issue in vehicle design, particularly for FWD vehicles that place the transmission horizontally across. A6FLH made every effort to make the system shorter in length, such as by removing the rear cover, to combat the placement problem. In more specific terms, the power-conveying parts in the transmission were redesigned and rearranged to achieve a length-cutting of 26 mm. That may not sound like much, but that’s equivalent to removing one set of planetary gear or one set of clutches. And it would be apt to describe the rear cover removal as more of an integration of the rear cover with the casing, which helped us achieve design simplicity and, of course, length-cutting. Thanks to these efforts, A6FLH is one of the shortest you will find within its powertrain type.
And there is one more difference to add: we increased the gear ratio to improve power performance and fuel efficiency and optimized the motor capacity to secure cost competitiveness.
Q. Could you elaborate on the last sentence? Does the increased gear ratio result in improved performance?
Kim TaeHoonㅣ When you’re driving at low speeds, acceleration requires much power. At high speeds, though, the engine RPM needs to be dropped to maximize fuel efficiency. If you increase the gear ratio, the ratio will become larger in lower gears and smaller in higher gears, thus securing the aforementioned performance and efficiency increase. Of course, you can’t increase the gear ratio indefinitely, so you have to find an optimized gear ratio for the vehicle weight, powertrain performance, and transmission speeds. The optimized ratio we found for the new transmission, I’m sure, will satisfy the exacting demands of the car manufacturers worldwide.
Hyundai Transys From the Engineer Perspective
Hyundai Transys is establishing itself as a competitive and independent global powertrain supplier. It is consistently growing by actively collaborating with Hyundai’s Namyang Institute as well as other global car manufacturers. From the outside, the prospects seem bright; however, how do the engineers from the inside evaluate the company’s prospects?
Q. Many car manufacturers rely on external powertrain companies like ZF, Aisin, and Jatco to supply them with transmissions. Hyundai/Kia, on the other hand, relies on the in-house Hyundai Transys to do the job. What are the advantages of such an arrangement?
Myung SeungMinㅣ Hyundai Motor Group has traditionally considered powertrains as an important pillar of car manufacturing and invested to secure its technological know-how. I believe that the current position of Hyundai in the global market is largely due to its independent internalization of automobile technology. I am sure that this technological independence will continue to shine in the fast-changing global powertrain market.
Park SangMoonㅣ It’s been only a year since the merger of Powertech and Dymos, so I think expecting any tangible synergic effect is a bit premature yet. But the potential for understanding various transmission types and exploring their technological potential for business is certainly there for Transys. As we come to understand how to blend and extend the technological know-how of all transmission types, we will become more competitive in the global market.
Kim TaeHoonㅣ Hyundai Motor Group has always been striving to secure its independence in powertrain technology. Achieving that independence for automatic transmissions, though, was relatively late. Up to the early 2000s, we were just producing ATs licensed from Japanese c mpetitors. But around the mid-2000s, we were finally able to independently develop the 6-speed AT for front-wheel-drive vehicles and soon the 8-speed AT for rear-wheel-drives as well as the CVT. Today, we are not only competent in hardware but also very knowledgeable in transmission control. A test-driving survey of global manufacturers on cars equipped with Transys’s transmissions invariably returns satisfactory answers.
Q. Hyundai Transys’s portfolio extends from transmissions to include axles and seats as well; what is Transys’s identity from the worker’s perspective?
Myung SeungMinㅣ It’s got potential for sure, given its incredibly diversified portfolio. The organization is young, too, with a relatively low average age of workers and leaders. If we play our cards right, I think we can become an industry-leading powertrain company in the future.
Kim TaeHoonㅣ As a powertrain designer, I can say the company provides a very advantageous environment because it deals with all types of transmissions. The ability to be eclectic with various pros and cons of many different types of transmissions is what I believe can place Transys above its competitors.
Making a Leap to Global Industry Leadership
Car part industries all over the world are undergoing M&As to beef up in size and raise their technological prowess. As an example, German parts manufacturer ZF acquired US-based TRW (LiDAR and camera manufacturer) for $12.4 billion in 2015. Moreover, with developing countries increasingly playing a more active and independent role in car manufacturing, new competitors are emerging every year to the already crowded automobile parts market. In this fierce field, Hyundai Transys is performing admirably, ranked 38th out of the top 100 parts manufacturers by revenue according to the US Automotive News’s 2018 rankings. But even brighter times are ahead for the company: with active internal collaboration with Namyang Institute and external projects with other car manufacturers, Hyundai Transys is gradually making a leap to become a global leader in powertrain production.
Photographs. Kim YoonSik