Two of the world’s biggest automakers are teaming up to produce a new series of automatic transmissions for cars, trucks, SUVs and crossovers.
Under a joint-development agreement, the engineering teams of Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. will develop the new series, which they say would improve vehicle performance and increase fuel economy.
Once the new product has been established and is ready for commercialization, each automaker will manufacture its own transmissions in its own plants, using numerous common components.
“The goal is to keep hardware identical in the Ford and GM transmissions. This will maximize parts commonality and give both companies economy of scale,” stated Ford’s chief engineer Craig Renneker, of the automaker’s Transmission & Driveline Component & Pre-Program Engineering unit. “However, we will each use our own control software to ensure that each transmission is carefully matched to the individual brand-specific vehicle DNA for each company.”
Read more about the collaboration in “Ford, GM Co-Developing Advanced Transmissions” in American Machinist.
