Hyundai is in the process of equipping some of their cars with the automated manual transmission (AMT). Young Key Koo, MD, Hyundai Motor India Limited has confirmed that this technology will be seen in their cars by 2018.
It was at the start of 2014 when Maruti Suzuki launched the Celerio with the AMT gearbox, making it the first car to be equipped with AMT. It was followed by the Tata Zest and facelifted Maruti Suzuki Alto K10. From then, many manufacturers came up with AMT variants of these cars and now many more vehicles are in the pipeline.
Clearly, the AMT technology has become very popular among Indian customers. And no wonder the demand for AMT cars has gone up considerably. Most of the manufacturers in India are sourcing these AMT kits from Magneti Marelli. However, ZF Sachs supplies AMT to Renault for the new Duster. Though there is no official word yet, reports suggest that this German automotive component manufacturer will also supply the AMT gearboxes to Hyundai.
The AMT gearbox basically helps a driver in shifting gears in a fully automatic mode or manually shift as and when needed. It is cheaper than a conventional automatic gearbox, but still adds to the ease and convenience of a driver with the help of clutch-less gear shifts. So this might be a good news for Hyundai loyalists who would love to see this new technology in Hyundai cars.
Source: ET