Wabco India, which manufactures braking products and advance braking systems and related air-assisted products and systems, has launched its OptiDrive automated manual transmission (AMT) system for buses and trucks in India.

The industry award-winning OptiDrive, said to be a breakthrough in AMT technology, is engineered as a modular system. It reduces by 50 percent the development time required for vehicle and transmission makers to apply OptiDrive to their platforms.

OptiDrive technology, which combines the comfort and ease-of-use of an automatic transmission with the efficiency of a manual transmission, automatically engages the vehicle’s clutch and gearshift actuation. It takes into account driver operation, engine torque, vehicle load and road inclination, resulting in optimised gear shifting, which improves fuel economy by up to 5 percent for trucks and buses in congested city traffic conditions and on long hauls.

AMT systems free drivers from frequent gear shifts, reducing their stress and fatigue while allowing them to concentrate on traffic conditions. Optimised gear shifting also improves driver efficiency, particularly among less experienced drivers.

According to Leon Liu, president, Wabco Asia, “India, like Brazil and China, offers a big opportunity for our OptiDrive systems given the large presence of global OEs here. AMTs reduce total cost of ownership and also increase fuel economy, which is very important globally due to rising fuel prices”.

He added that Wabco pioneered the AMT system in Europe in 1986 where today more than 60 percent of trucks adopt AMT solutions. Wabco has sold more than 2 million AMT systems globally since its introduction.

P Kaniappan, managing director, Wabco India, said, “Wabco expects to satisfy the growing market demand and expand its base of customers for AMT systems in India. We are working on AMT programs in India with major commercial vehicle manufactures for respective trucks and bus platforms.” 

Wabco has partnered with fleet operators in India to develop as well as retrofit AMT solutions including trials on buses. As of now, about 500 buses are running on Indian roads with Wabco-fitted AMTs.

VRL Logistics, which has tested Wabco’s OptiDrive systems for six months on two buses, has reported that its on-road test findings reveal fuel savings from 5 to 8 percent and more relaxed drivers.

Additional benefits from Wabco’s AMT solutions include reduced wear on transmission components translating into lowered maintenance costs over a vehicle’s lifetime, along with reduced emissions due to optimised gear shifting.

It is understood that 2,000 city buses equipped with these AMT systems, under the JNNURM Phase 2 funding, will be introduced soon on Indian roads. 

Photograph (L-R): Leon Liu, president (Asia Pacific Business Unit), Wabco Asia Pacific, P Kaniappan, director, Wabco India,  and Jorge Solis, vice-president (Driveline Controls), Wabco Europe BVBA-SPRL.