- May 15, 2020
On May 15, 2020, the 3 millionth Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) came off the Punch Powertrain’s production line in Nanjing, China. Since the start of production in 1991, Punch Powertrain CVT technology has penetrated the market globally to serve over 100 different car models, produced by 36 global car brands. Today, the largest volumes of Punch Powertrain’s CVT technology are supplied to China and Asia.
During recent decades, Punch Powertrain’s CVT portfolio has established a strong reputation as a robust and cost efficient transmission solution that can be tailored for specific market needs.
The successful uptake of Punch Powertrain’s CVT in China – a market with a deep appreciation for the stepless, comfortable shifting mechanism of this technology – can be attributed to the company’s technology level and adaptability to the local market. In the past decade various Chinese domestic car manufacturers at the start of their growth trajectory, have selected Punch Powertrain as the most suitable partner. In 2019, over 50% of all CVTs installed by domestic Chinese brands, were supplied by Punch Powertrain, making it the leading CVT manufacturer in China.
In addition to China, the company’s CVTs are supplied throughout Asia-Pacific region and further spread around the world, including Europe, Middle East and South America. With this global coverage and volume, the technology has proven its quality and robustness, supporting Punch Powertrain’s customers’ domestic and export ambitions for diverse applications, including extreme temperatures
(-40°C to +45°C), high altitude (over 4.700m), high humidity (79%) and steep hills (30%).
Jorge Solis, CEO, states: “We are proud to have delivered 3 million CVTs to our customers worldwide. Reaching this milestone has enabled us to establish an in-depth understanding of different market requirements, gain trust as a local market supplier and extend our product range globally. While we are proud to celebrate this milestone, it energizes the team to look forward to the future opportunities for this, and our next generation of CVT, DCT and EV technologies.”
In 2019, over 50% of all CVTs installed by domestic Chinese brands, were supplied by Punch Powertrain, making it the leading CVT manufacturer in China.
Local-for-local strategy with the backing of an established global business
While reaching this milestone, Punch Powertrain relies on its local-for-local strategy, backed by a global organization. The company can count on over 45 years of experience in CVT technology and has a strong innovation focus. Over the past 3 years Punch Powertrain concluded over € 200 million of global R&D investments, implementing state of the art equipment and processes.
The accumulated expertise and infrastructure are fully directed to support local business teams, ensuring responsiveness to local markets. This approach combines in depth expertise with the much appreciated flexibility.
Innovations for future and global demand
Largest portion of the 3 million (about 2,6 million) is represented by the long running, successful VT2/VT3 family. In addition to this, for the past 7 years the company has been successfully driving an ambitious innovation program, greatly broadening its portfolio to anticipate future market needs.
Within Punch Powertrain’s CVT portfolio, a new generation VT5 was launched in 2019, and has already passed the milestone of 100.000 units on the roads today. The VT5 offers a solution to address increasingly stringent efficiency and environmental regulations and paves the way for highly efficient hybrid applications.
Furthermore, the company has gained broad market accreditation with its pioneering dual clutch transmission (DCT) concept (DT1), based on a single layshaft. This sets a new standard for the DCT category, delivering unmatched compactness, functionality and cost efficiency. Building further on this concept, Punch Powertrain’s DT2 is launched: a native hybrid DCT, which enables car manufacturers to flex their fleet hybridization mix as regional markets’ demands dictate.
