Toyota’s pseudo-manual EV gearshift offers up to 14 gears

More details about the fake manual transmission for electric cars developed by Toyota have emerged from a recently published patent application. Toyota's alibi gearbox could have up to 14 simulated gears.

In February 2022, rumours first surfaced that Toyota was working on a manual transmission simulation for electric cars. This involves a gearshift and a clutch pedal for the pseudo-realization of manual gear changes. The gear changes are only simulated by the onboard electronics.

A year ago, the Japanese company installed the system in a Lexus UX 300e to demonstrate it. “From the outside, this vehicle is as quiet as any other BEV. But the driver is able to experience all the sensations of a manual transmission vehicle,” commented Takashi Watanabe, Chief Engineer of Lexus’ electric vehicle department, at the time. “This gave us so much fun that the project is now under serious development.”

Media reports now reveal that the technical document for the patent application is accompanied by images showing a system with up to 14 gears. Currently, six to seven gears are normal. We are talking about “virtual gear steps”, the number of which customers can choose.

motor1.com