Schaeffler is launching its MultiMode devoted hybrid transmission (DHT) into quantity manufacturing this yr with a number of European and Asian car producers, the corporate introduced on the 2026 Vienna Motor Symposium. The launch comes as the corporate reviews rising buyer demand for hybrid powertrain options—not simply as a transition know-how, however as a long-term product class in markets outdoors Europe.
The MultiMode DHT is a compact built-in unit weighing 125 kg with as much as 145 kW of peak energy. It packages two electrical machines, energy electronics and hydraulics for clutch actuation, cooling and parking lock right into a single module. Schaeffler provides the related software program and management capabilities from a single supply. Three driving modes are supported: electric-only, serial and parallel. In serial mode, the inner combustion engine runs at a set effectivity level decoupled from wheel demand—a well-established strategy for conserving ICE gas consumption low throughout mixed-mode operation.
The corporate additionally highlighted production-ready elements geared toward hybrid ICE purposes. The spoke damper, a torsional vibration absorber mounted straight within the crankcase, eliminates the necessity for an exterior crankshaft seal, slicing friction and packaging quantity. It’s already in quantity manufacturing at Chinese language producers, with extra manufacturing begins deliberate for later in 2026. Schaeffler’s latest-generation camshaft phasing—which use a brushless DC motor with built-in electronics for variable valve timing throughout load and velocity ranges—entered manufacturing on the firm’s Taicang, China plant final yr.
By means of its 2024 merger with Vitesco Applied sciences, Schaeffler added a Flex Gasoline sensor to its portfolio. The sensor mounts between gas tank and engine to measure ethanol content material in actual time earlier than injection, concentrating on markets the place renewable gas blends are in use.
Schaeffler tasks roughly 30 p.c of world new car manufacturing shall be hybrid in 2035, with ICE-only automobiles at round 20 p.c. Demand is uneven by area: in Japan, the corporate expects hybrids to succeed in roughly 77 p.c of latest manufacturing by 2035. CEO Matthias Zink summarized the place at Vienna: “Each gram of CO₂ saved counts.”
Supply: Schaeffler
