General Motors' newest 10-speed automatic is set to launch shortly in the Camaro ZL1, and a nine-speed will soon be making an appearance in a yet unnamed large car or crossover. But for their smaller cars, GM is looking at increasing the number of CVTs over adding gears to their automatics.
Currently, GM offers only a single car with a CVT in North America. It's fitted to the 2016 Chevrolet Spark with a transmission built by Nissan subsidiary Jatco. But that will soon change, and more small cars will be getting the continuously variable transmissions, with GM VP of global propulsion systems Dan Nicholson stating that "they don’t make sense in everything, but you will see more of that from GM in the future.” He also indicated that GM is happy with the CVTs they are currently using, but did not rule out GM designing their own, or entering a partnership with Ford like the one they have for the current nine and 10-speed gearboxes.
The CVT uses a belt or chain along with a system of pulleys to offer nearly infinite gear ratios. They are smaller and lighter than a conventional automatic and are more efficient. Past models were not a hit with consumers, but the technology, experience, and reliability have improved greatly. And since the CVT is generally more fuel efficient than automatics, it's not a difficult choice for automakers to make the change.
