Nissan and Jatco Claim Improved Fuel Efficiency with Lighter, Smaller CVT Design

Nissan Motor Co. and its transmission partner Jatco say they've co-developed the next-generation continually variable transmission, or CVT,  and that it will provide a 10 percent fuel economy boost over the CVTs Nissan now uses.

The automaker said it will begin installing the new transmission in most of its its cars and crossovers early next year.

The new CVT design uses a higher transmission ratio, smaller pulleys  and cuts overall length by 10 percent and weight by 13 percent compared to other CVTs in the same class.

Fuel economy, and lower manufacturing cost, is the principal reason Nissan and several other automakers use CVTs instead of traditional geared transmissions.

Nissan has been using them since 1991.The automakers owns a controlling interest in Jatco, one of the world's largest CVT manufacturers.

Posted by

John O'Dell July 24, 2009, 4:30 PM

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Fuel Economy, Nissan

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Fuel Efficiency