Tech Insider / ZF EVSYS800 SHORT WORK MANUFACTURERS ARE LOOKING TOWARD MORE COMPACT INTEGRATED ELECTRIC DRIVES. ZF’S SOLUTION IS A COMPACT, COAXIAL TRANSMISSION COMPLETE WITH INTEGRATED DIFFERENTIAL Words: Lawrence Butcher hough the use of electrified powertrains opens a range of layout options for vehicle engineers, when compared with traditional ICE installations there are still a number of packaging constraints to handle. For example, the use of rear drive setups via an integrated electric drive unit (EDU) often encroaches into the rear trunk space. It is therefore unsurprising that OEMs are looking to deploy ever smaller EDUs in their future product lines. Toyota, for example, recently stated that it is working on development of a “small e-axle” in partnership with BlueE Nexus, Denso and Aisin, with the aim of increasing range and interior space. Most EDUs rely on a motor (or motors) paired with a traditional parallel drop-gear-type reduction transmission, and integrated power electronics. For example, ZF’s EVD2, a variant of which is used in the recently launched Lotus Eletre, with a peak power output T 1 12 Transmission Technology International / 2023
Transmission Technology International October 2023: Page 12
