Bosch and Dana form off-highway partnership

Bosch Rexroth and Dana Holding Corp have formed a 50:50 joint venture to develop and manufacture advanced transmissions for the off-highway equipment market.

Reiner Leipold-Buettner, president of Bosch's mobile applications division, said the partnership would allow the manufacturers to explore the integration of hydraulics and mechanics for future drive transmissions.

The companies said that the development of hydromechanical variable transmission (HVT) would play an important role in improving fuel economy, productivity, emissions reductions, and vehicle manoeuvrability in the future. Dana and Bosch are each contributing staff, intellectual property, and capital to the new joint venture company, which is based in Arco, Italy.

The joint venture, Dana Rexroth Transmission Systems, will produce an HVT series targeted at the construction, material handling and forestry markets with initial focus on wheel loaders and graders up to 360hp (270kW).

"Tests on front-end loaders with the new HVT power split systems demonstrate fuel savings in the drivetrain of more than 20% when compared with the same vehicle outfitted with a conventional torque converter transmission," Dana said.