Mahindra XUV500 automatic will use Aisin gearbox

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has signed a deal with Aisin Seiki of Japan, a top global supplier of automatic transmissions, to supply the next-generation six-speed auto gearbox for future M&M and SsangYong models. 

 

The upcoming SsangYong compact SUV (code: X100) will be the first recipient of this transmission followed by Mahindra’s XUV500. “Yes, we are going to install the Aisin six-speed automatic, which is coming in January 2015, and Mahindra is also considering the same gearbox for the XUV500, so volume wise that is great for us and we can save some money,” said Y I Lee, President and CEO of SsangYong Motor Company. 

 

This deal marks the first true co-operation between M&M and SsangYong for joint sourcing. “The volumes for Mahindra alone were too small for Aisin to bother about us,” said an M&M source. “It was only additional volumes of SsangYong that interested them in our business,” he added.  

Mahindra and SsangYong will be sourcing a high torque capacity six-speed automatic for transverse engine, front-wheel-drive application.  It will be a latest generation transmission (known as ‘version 4’) which is yet to be launched, and an improvement on the current six-speed TF-80SC unit that drives cars like the Volvo S80, Peugeot 508 and Cadillac SRX. 

 

This latest Aisin automatic gearbox is a conventional torque converter but comes with a lot of sophisticated hardware and electronics to improve efficiency by reducing ‘spin loss.’ According to Aisin, its new generation of automatic transmissions are much lighter and have quicker gearshifts too. 

 

The delay in launching the auto transmission could mean that others in the segment may get ahead of the XUV500 in the auto race. The Duster auto is expected early next year and Tata Motors, which showed the six-speed auto Aria in Geneva last year, could launch it by the end of this year too.

 

With the latest Aisin auto gearbox mated to the capable 2.2-litre mHawk motor, the XUV500 could have good potential in several international markets too.