In December 2006, Nissan announced its Nissan Green Program 2010 (NGP 2010), a mid-term environmental action plan that includes initiatives to reduce vehicle emissions. In line with this plan, the company intends to introduce a new and original hybrid system in fiscal year 2010. Specifically, this system-called the “Infiniti Direct Response Hybrid”-is a one-motor, two-clutch parallel hybrid system that eliminates the need for a torque converter. It will be featured in the 2012 Infiniti M35 Hybrid and provides the following advantages.
- 1
Significant improvement in fuel economy even in Highway driving
- 2
Better response and a more direct feeling
- 3
Lightweight and low cost
This one-motor, two-clutch system without torque converter possesses a simple but highly capable architecture that is new to the passenger vehicle segment. The successful development of this system hinged on breakthroughs in the following areas.
- 1
High speed control of switching between charging/discharging
- 2
Immediate and high-output power assist
- 3
Smoothness at engine start
Nissan has developed the following proprietary technologies to realize the development of this system.
This paper provides an outline and description of this new one-motor, two-clutch parallel hybrid system as well as the key breakthrough technologies that made it possible.