Manual EVs May Soon Be a Thing
The manual transmission offers unparalleled control of a vehicle, and as such are still the most common type in many countries. If one were to buy a manual car, one must buy a petrol car. That is because there has not been any manual EVs don’t exist. At least, not yet.
Last week, the automotive industry was abuzz with the latest news. Toyota had filed a patent for an EV manual transmission. This is on top of news of Nissan switching to EVs. It was good news for lovers of manual cars that want to be more environmentally friendly. Drivers could both drive their favoured car and reduce their carbon footprint!
A Simulated Manual Transmission
As this is still just a patent filing, the actual manual EV is likely years away from hitting the market. Yet, there is speculation that the car is merely ‘faking’ a manual feel, and is not actually a manual car. The patent itself provides some hints.
It states that the driver “of the electric vehicle is configured to control the torque of the electric motor using the MT vehicle model based on the operation amount of the accelerator pedal, the operation amount of the pseudo-clutch pedal, and the shift position of the pseudo-shifter.”
The word “pseudo” drew a lot of attention, as it suggests that it is not necessary to drive the car. This is on top of the descriptions of these parts. For example, the “pseudo-shifter has a structure that simulates a shift lever provided by a MT vehicle.”
In such a vehicle, the driver will likely have no more control of this EV than any other automatic. This will undoubtedly let down drivers who want real manual EVs and not an imitation.
However, this is merely a patent filing. The final product may not resemble this patent at all. Only time will tell.
