The jury was impressed by Schaeffler’s idea of hybridizing the CVT transmission. The Center of Automotive Management and PricewaterhouseCoopers awarded Schaeffler in the “drives” category for being the most innovative automotive supplier. Matthias Zink, CEO Automotive at Schaeffler, accepted the award in Frankfurt.

Schaeffler is this year’s winner of the AutomotiveINNOVATIONS award in the drives category, which has been awarded by the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) and the auditing and consulting company PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) since 2012. The jury honored the innovative combination of Schaeffler’s CVT transmission with a hybrid function, i.e. an integrated electric motor. This transmission is characterized by particularly low energy losses as well as an extremely compact design, which offers a decisive advantage in terms of its design envelope and weight savings.

Schaeffler’s CEO Automotive Matthias Zink accepted the prize at the award ceremony in Frankfurt. Journalist and television presenter Barbara Hahlweg, who was hosting the ceremony, asked: “The continuously variable automatic transmission has so far been more prevalent in Asia than in Europe. Is this going to change with Schaeffler’s CVT hybrid transmission?” Mr. Zink gave a detailed explanation of this innovative solution: “As a supplier, we are challenged to develop innovative solutions for the mobility of tomorrow and, as a technology partner, implement them in accordance with our customers’ requirements. The combination of an electric drive with a CVT automatic transmission is a promising and attractive technical solution for the increasing trend towards plug-in hybrids. Our plug-in hybrid concept based on a CVT is a compact design which can achieve a particularly long electric driving range thanks to low energy losses and offers a high level of driving comfort, which is typical of continuously variable transmissions”. These features are important criteria for automobile manufacturers and drivers alike. This concept is also suitable for future trends, such as autonomous driving, as the continuously variable design of the electric motor works in perfect harmony with the CVT transmission, offering high levels of comfort. And what is more, the high system performance also caters to customers’ requirements for driving pleasure.

Hybrids’ breakthrough assisted by the high-volume market
Schaeffer has designed this plug-in hybrid concept on the basis of a CVT for high-volume B and C-segment vehicles. “It is of immense importance that these segments be catered to if the topic of hybrid vehicles is to gain universal acceptance”, explains Mr. Zink. “Legal regulations are becoming increasingly stringent worldwide, and this means that consumers need to change their way of thinking and accept new solutions.”

Suppliers’ ranges are versatile
In the category for suppliers at the AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Awards, a high-ranking jury judged 281 individual innovations from suppliers based on feedback from automobile manufacturers. The suppliers’ innovations were assessed with regard to their future technical relevance.
Felix Kuhnert, head of Automotive at PwC emphasizes: “Without the high level of suppliers’ innovative strength in the fields of automotive engineering and materials and processes, the rapid progress in the automobile industry would not be possible. And especially since automobile manufacturers have been focusing on developing new business and distribution models, suppliers are assuming an increasingly important role in the development and production of vehicles. Today, creative suppliers who market their ideas proactively have higher chances for success than ever before.” Professor Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management, adds: “Suppliers have the potential to rank among the winners of this “major transformation” in the automobile industry. Not only will they become increasingly indispensable for the development of groundbreaking future technologies but they will also expand their customer spectrum to new players, such as Google, Apple, Uber, or Baidu.”