According to AutoGuide.com BorgWarner will this week at the SEA All-Wheel Drive Symposium in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan showcase its next generation of AWD systems including a new hybrid-electric setup. The system, known as eAWD, will be fitted to a Saab 9-3 and BorgWarner claims it will offer, "superior stability and traction with lower emissions and up to 20 percent better fuel economy."
As far as I can understand, this must be the Haldex developed electric four wheel drive system seeing that the Haldex traction division earlier this year was bought by BorgWarner.
It is quite ironic that BorgWarner and Haldex will showcase their system on a Saab 9-3 when Saab has developed its own hybrid electric cross wheel drive system (eXWD) and started the company e-AAM Driveline Systems with BorgWarner's competitor American Axle & Manufacturing. Saab's e-AAM system will also be sold to other manufacturers and therefore be a direct competitor to the Haldex system. The marketing director of e-AAM last month said that e-AAM has already sold the system to a handful of customers.
It will be very interesting to see comparison tests on these two systems. I guess we can look forward to that next year or in 2013.
A blog fueled by enthusiasm about Saab, the greatest car company between the North and the South Pole. And their cars, which probably is the only cars that would start on a cold and crispy South Pole morning.
