by Brian Byrne. Up to six percent of cars produced in Europe will by 2012 use the kind of double-clutch automated manual gearbox pioneered by Volkswagen as the DSG.
That's the view of some automotive analysts who say the use of constant velocity (CVT) autoboxes will not grow in Europe, though they may become the favoured option in the US and Asia for automating smaller cars.
More than one in ten VW Golfs are already ordered with the DSG system, which costs the same as a 5-speed automatic transmission to make but is a third cheaper than a CVT. And in terms of fuel economy, the dual clutch box is some 15 percent more fuel efficient than the traditional auto.
Pioneers in Europe of the CVT system for small cars, Ford and Fiat, now use automated manual systems instead.
