Nine-Speed Automatics Will 'Dominate' Market: ZF CEO
Nine-speed automatic transmissions are still new, but German manufacturer ZF sees them becoming the future norm in North America.
Jeep’s new Cherokee is the first to offer a nine-speed automatic, to be followed by the Range Rover Evoque. But if ZF has its way, those two will serve as trailblazers for a long list of products to come. The company is investing $600 million to its facility in Gray Court, South Carolina, which marks its largest investment outside its German headquarters. The company aims to build 800,000 of its nine-speed transmissions annually along with 400,000 of its already-implemented eight-speed autos.
SEE ALSO: Land Rover Brings Nine-Speed Automatic to 2013 Geneva Motor Show
“Nine-speeds will more or less dominate the market in the future,” ZF CEO Stefan Sommer told Ward’s Auto.
Current eight-speed customers include Chrysler, Audi, BMW and Jaguar-Land Rover. The company says its eight-speed can yield up to 11 percent fuel savings for longitudinal drivetrains or up to 25 percent for the hybridized version of the transmission.
GALLERY: ZF Nine-Speed Automatic Transmission
[Source: Ward’s Auto]
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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bah humbug. 9-speed autos are obviously way better than those archaic old 8-speeds; but me, i'm holding out for 11-speedz -noze in the air :p