Toyota has the solution to convince the last anti-electric cars

Toyota has just filed a patent for a fake manual gearbox intended for its future electric cars. The latter will be able to simulate up to 14 gears and its use will be similar to that of a real mechanical transmission for the driver. But its marketing has not yet been confirmed.

If the electric car is progressing almost everywhere in the world, and particularly in Europe, its detractors are still numerous. And they have many more or less valid arguments against this engine, ranging from the price being too high to the autonomy being too low, including the recycling of batteries. Problems which, however, no longer really exist today.

An astonishing patent

Apart from the fact that some believe that the electric car is not that clean, which is not entirely wrong, others point out the lack of driving pleasure. For the latter, nothing beats a thermal car on this point, especially one equipped with a manual gearbox. The latter is still very popular with purists, although it tends to disappear over the years.

But could she soon make a strong comeback? Well that is very likely. And it could even make the electric car attractive for fans of sports driving and internal combustion cars. Especially since for the record, these will be banned for sale in Europe from 2035. But how is this possible?

Well thanks to a new technology which is reportedly being developed at Toyota. Indeed, and as the site explains Motor1the Japanese manufacturer is reportedly working on a new manual gearbox for its next electric cars. Enough to once again confirm the rumor, more than a year after the declaration of Takashi Watanabe, the chief engineer of Lexus Electrified.

And a patent has even been filed by the company, which is slowly beginning to believe in this engine and which is preparing a zero-emission (exhaust) urban SUV. And the least we can say is that this technology is very astonishing, since it will be able to simulate up to 14 gears, and this without any mechanical control. But how is this possible? Don’t panic, we’ll explain everything to you!

A complex operation

Although patents are generally not very detailed, this is nevertheless the case for the one describing Toyota’s virtual manual gearbox. Thus, the latter explains that “ the number of virtual gear stages can be six or more or less than six stages“. The driver can then choose the number according to his desires and his driving style. It then drives by shifting gears like a traditional manual transmission.

But once it gets to the last gear, it can continue accelerating into a new series of higher gears. For seven gears for example, the eighth will be on the first gear notch and so on. Same thing for downshifting. While this seems a bit complicated in theory, it should actually be a bit simpler in use. In fact, the operation is the same as for a heavy-duty manual gearbox.

But this technology still needs to see the light of day. For the moment, nothing is certain yet, since a patent does not guarantee that the manufacturer will actually offer this technology. However, Toyota may take inspiration from it for its next cars, while current electric cars do not have a gearbox. Only certain models like the Porsche Taycan still have two gears, in order to optimize acceleration and top speed.

Toyota will not be the first manufacturer to integrate a false gearbox, since this is also the case with the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N that we recently tested. With very innovative technologies, to simulate relationships… but also noises!

Could the transmission presented by Toyota therefore be particularly adapted to ultra-sporty models, such as the FT-SE unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show ? We’ll still have to wait to find out. But whatever the case, the manufacturer already has numerous projects concerning electric cars, notably including innovative batteries.