Development of Toyota's Transaxle for Mini-Van Hybrid Vehicles

Abstract

<div class="htmlview paragraph">Toyota introduced the world's first mass-produced hybrid passenger car, the Prius, in December 1997. In June 2001, Toyota developed the Toyota Hybrid System-CVT (THS-C). This new hybrid system for mini-vans was mounted on the Estima Hybrid.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">A new transaxle was developed for the front drive unit of the THS-C system that is compact, lightweight, and highly efficient. The unit achieves excellent driving comfort with smooth speed change by CVT control. High-level driving power control is provided via a wet multiple disc clutch.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper introduces and explains the following aspects of the THS-C system:</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph"> <ol class="list nostyle"> <li class="list-item"><span class="li-label">1.</span><div class="htmlview paragraph">Compact and lightweight technologies</div></li> <li class="list-item"><span class="li-label">2.</span><div class="htmlview paragraph">High-efficiency technologies</div></li> <li class="list-item"><span class="li-label">3.</span><div class="htmlview paragraph">Electronic CVT and clutch control technologies.</div></li> </ol> </div>