GM, SAIC to Collaborate on Small Gasoline Engines and Fuel-Saving Transmission
By Scott Doggett August 18, 2010
Expanding their partnership, General Motors Co. and SAIC Motor Corp. have agreed to collaborate on a new small-displacement gasoline engine family and an advanced fuel-saving transmission (pictured).
The agreement, signed today in Shanghai by GM Vice Chairman of Global Product Operations Tom Stephens and SAIC President Chen Hong, represents a significant milestone that expands GM and SAIC's relationship into powertrain development.
The gasoline engine, which will be offered in displacements from 1.0 liters to 1.5 liters, hits right at the heart of the global vehicle market, the automakers said in a joint statement. Its compact, lightweight design combines direct injection and turbocharging, providing customers with excellent fuel efficiency and performance, they said.
The engine will be used by GM and SAIC in China and future vehicles worldwide, providing further fuel-efficiency advances beyond traditional technologies.
Engineering and development of the new engine will be carried out jointly by GM and SAIC engineers in Detroit and at the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center, the automakers' engineering and design joint venture in Shanghai.
The new front-wheel-drive transmission will incorporate the latest innovations for improving fuel economy and performance, they said. The transmission alone will provide upward of 10 percent improvement in fuel economy over today's conventional six-speed automatic transmissions.
The co-developed transmission will feature dry, dual-clutch technology. The automakers said it will provide shift comfort equal to a conventional fully automatic transmission, with superior quality, while reducing CO2 emissions.
When combined, these technologies can provide up to 20 percent improvement in CO2 emissions, compared to engines and automatic transmissions in production in China today.
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