The announcement was made by the company’s Vice President for technology, Zhao Fu and is the first important transmission-related move performed by the company after it acquired the Australian Drivetrain Systems International (DSI) gearbox producer last year.
According to Zhao Fu, 85 percent of the research & development for the seven speed DCT will be performed by Geely, with the remaining 15 percent to be done by DSI. The two companies’ engineers have created a team that will handle R&D in the future.
The DCT gearbox is being developed by a dedicated team of 50 people. Its members come from Geely Automobile Research Institute’s transmission division and the DSI research & development division.
DSI currently produces a four-speed automatic transmission and a six-speed automated manual transmission. The latter will be used in Geely’s current product line-up, being installed on nine Geely models equipped with engines larger than 1.5 liters, including the carmaker’s London Taxi TX4. The move will be introduced next year, when the carmaker will begin the domestic production of the gearbox.
Geely is not interested in using the four-speed automatic transmission, as it considers that the six-speed automated manual gearbox is the best option for the current auto market. The company expects this to achieve an important market share once it is introduced.
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