The adoption of dual-clutch transmissions among automakers — particularly those selling cars in the United States — might be off to a slow start, but VW announced a major sales milestone today. The automaker said today it sold the millionth DSG-equipped vehicle last month.
Demand for the high-tech transmissions is increasing. VW sold 400,000 units last year, accounting for 40 percent of its overall DSG sales in the last four years or so. Now nearly a quarter of all VWs ship with a DSG gearbox.
Dual-clutch transmissions offer faster gear changes than a regular manual transmission, with the smoothness and ease-of-use of an automatic. The system uses two computer-controlled clutches, making the transition between gears much smoother than an F1-style automated manual. There is no clutch pedal, but gear changes can be made manually via paddle shifters or the car can be left in an automatic mode. DSGs also boast far less power loss than automatic gearboxes, and less power consumption.
