Chrysler’s Eight-Speed Transmission to Boost MPG

AUBURN HILLS, MI - Chrysler's eight-speed transmission, set to premiere in 2013, will help boost fuel economy and reduce emissions, according to the automaker.

by Staff

June 10, 2010

1 min to read

AUBURN HILLS, MI- Chrysler's eight-speed transmission, set to premiere in 2013, will help boost fuel economy and reduce emissions, according to the automaker.

More and better-designed gears help the engine run at a more efficent RPM, which contributes to fuel economy and reduced emissions, explained Paolo Ferrero, senior vice president - Powertrain, Chrysler Group LLC.

"This is a totally redesigned transmission," Ferrero said. "All of the fuel economy (improvements) of this transmission come from better design of internal components and a wide-spread gear ratio that allows the engine to run at lower RPMs."

In January, the company set a goal to increase fuel efficiency 25 percent by 2014 across the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram Truck product lineup.

Chrysler announced plans to invest $300 million into the company's existing transmission manufacturing facilities in Kokomo, Ind., to make the new transmission. Chrysler Group licensed the manufacturing rights from Fredrichshafen, Germany-based ZF Group to build the transmission. After working with ZF, Chrysler Group Powertrain engineers benchmarked the industry's leading automatic transmissions and set functional goals as they designed the new eight speed.

Topics:Emissions Transmission Chrysler Fuel Economy Maintenance Operations Green Fleet

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