BRUSSELS, Belgium and SHANGHAI, China – WABCO Holdings Inc. announced at Auto Shanghai 2011 that the company has entered into a long-term agreement with Shaanxi Fast Gear Co. Ltd., China’s largest manufacturer of heavy duty transmissions, to develop and supply WABCO’s OptiDrive system, a breakthrough in transmission automation technology.
WABCO will furnish OptiDrive systems for Fast Gear’s platform of new F-Shift transmission products. Series production is expected to begin during 2011. WABCO says this new contract with Fast Gear marks yet another major customer on a fast-growing list of leading OEMs in China and India that have adopted WABCO’s OptiDrive technology.
WABCO’s OptiDrive system improves vehicle control and driver effectiveness by automating and optimizing gear shifting, the company says. It significantly improves vehicle safety and the driver’s comfort as it frees the driver from shifting gears, allowing the driver to concentrate even more on traffic conditions.
By optimizing gear shifting, WABCO’s OptiDrive also reduces fuel-consumption by up to 5 percent, a major cost saving and environmental benefit over the vehicle’s lifetime, WABCO says. With OptiDrive, total cost of vehicle ownership is substantially reduced due to less required maintenance of and less wear on drivetrain components and systems.
WABCO says it also is the only supplier of compressed air powered automated manual transmission (AMT) systems and OptiDrive is a modular AMT solution. Its modularity significantly reduces the development time required for application to transmission and vehicle platforms. This means higher flexibility and cost efficiencies for manufacturers of transmissions and commercial vehicles.
"As China’s leading manufacturer and supplier of heavy duty transmissions, Fast Gear is passionate about technology progress and sustaining our reputation for outstanding new products," said Li Dakai, chairman of the board, Shaanxi Fast Auto Drive Group Company. "We leverage OptiDrive’s innovation so we can offer our customers benefits such as better vehicle control, increased driver effectiveness, improved fuel efficiency and a greener footprint."
"We are proud of this new agreement with Fast Gear as OptiDrive is our breakthrough in transmission automation technology," said Leon Liu, WABCO president, Asia. "Our commitment with Fast Gear shows further adoption of OptiDrive systems in the growing market for automated manual transmissions in China. It also further strengthens WABCO’s leading position in China as we continue to create value for customers through access to our global engineering network and from our world-class local manufacturing facilities."
"Fast Gear marks another innovation achievement in transmission automation technology through OptiDrive, one of the most creatively engineered products in WABCO’s portfolio," said Hans-Jürgen Sander, WABCO vice president, Driveline Control. "WABCO’s OptiDrive breakthrough allows emerging markets to participate in the trend of rapidly increasing adoption of transmission automation technology, particularly in China, India and Brazil."
WABCO’s OptiDrive system is winner of the 2010 Automotive News PACE Award, the industry’s benchmark for innovation.
In 1986, WABCO introduced the first electronic transmission automation system for commercial vehicles, an industry breakthrough. Today, WABCO remains the technology leader in transmission automation based on 25 years of continuous innovation.
