{"id":22811,"date":"2022-12-12T18:21:31","date_gmt":"2022-12-12T18:21:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/12\/lexus-is-developing-a-manual-transmission-for-evs\/"},"modified":"2022-12-12T18:21:31","modified_gmt":"2022-12-12T18:21:31","slug":"lexus-is-developing-a-manual-transmission-for-evs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/12\/lexus-is-developing-a-manual-transmission-for-evs\/","title":{"rendered":"Lexus Is Developing a Manual Transmission for EVs"},"content":{"rendered":"

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(Photo: Tai\u2019s Captures)<\/small><\/center>As the Polaroid camera and vinyl records did before it, the manual transmission is making a comeback. Largely thought to be clunky, outdated, and inconvenient (especially in ever-expanding urban areas), the stick shift is finding its way into an unlikely place: electric vehicles.<\/p>\n

Lexus, Toyota\u2019s luxury auto brand, is working on making a manual transmission for EVs. According to the auto publication Evo Magazine, Lexus is hoping to \u201c[augment] an entire combustion-powered driving experience in a low-carbon EV,\u201d combining a highly engaging driving experience with a more efficient and environmentally friendly car.<\/p>\n

Combined with the brand\u2019s own DIRECT4 twin-motor\u2014which facilitates one-wheel, two-wheel, or all-wheel drive\u2014Lexus\u2019s electric manual transmission will use haptics to mimic the feel of a traditional stick shift experience. The system will use a gear stick and a clutch pedal like any other manual setup, but the two won\u2019t be connected; instead, software will work to coordinate both elements\u2019 movements and respond via audio and haptic feedback. The system will even adjust the electric powertrain\u2019s torque in real-time. Evo says<\/a> the experience should be so realistic that drivers will be able to stall Lexus\u2019s stick-shift EVs if they haven\u2019t brushed up on their shifting skills for a while.<\/p>\n

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(Photo: Unervi Gonz\u00e1lez\/Unsplash)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Lexus plans on pairing the electric manual transmission with its new steer-by-wire<\/a> system, the latter of which will be present in all of its EVs from the 2023 RZ onward. Both systems represent a larger foray into driving components that (controversially, we should mention) lack any mechanical connection to the driveline. So far, Lexus has only combined the technologies in a working prototype based on the UX300e crossover.<\/p>\n

The Venn diagram of vehicles with a stick shift and EVs is\u2026well, slim. In 2020 Hyundai introduced the third iteration of its i20 supermini, which runs on gas but can come with a virtual clutch. Earlier this year, Ford was found to have filed a patent<\/a> for an electric-clutch manual transmission that would allow the driver to skip the clutch pedal and shift using only their hand\u2014but the automaker has yet to unveil a vehicle that uses the technology. Now Toyota is following up on its own electric clutch patents, which were discovered<\/a> by a Toyota enthusiast and shared via message board in February.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to tell how successful Lexus\u2019s software-based electric clutch will be. At first, it\u2019s hard to imagine that someone in search of an EV would also seek out manual transmission; they\u2019re on opposite ends of the modernity spectrum. On the other, EVs with stick shifts might become popular with people who\u2019d otherwise be resistant to the building \u201cshift\u201d (get it?) toward EVs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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