Could Electric Cars Have A Manual Transmission? 🎥

Last week, our buddy Jason over at Engineering Explained in great detail why electric cars don’t need transmissions, but now he’s taking a look deeper inside that idea and examining the potential benefits of using a transmission with electric motors. This isn’t so much a change in stance, Jason is just diving deeper into what the possible benefits could be in certain applications.

The discussion was inspired by Renault, who used a 2 speed transmission in their Formula E cars. However, instead of some ultra-trick electronically-controlled gearbox, Renault elected to go with as simple manual gear lever to select between high and low gears. However, what Jason is actually looking at is the viability of using a manual transmission, which is more energy efficient than an automatic gear box, would make sense in an electric car on the street. First we look at if it would be possible to take a car with a manual trans and drop in an electric motor, and the answer to that is yes, it can be done. But then we have to look at whether or not it is a logical decision. That answer requires a little more in-depth analysis. Less “can we” and more “should we”, if you will.

When it comes to that, the answer still seems to be a pretty resounding no. Between overly complicating a system that works well in it’s simplest layout and adding weight, any transmission is going to be inefficient compared to using a direct drive-style system like most current electric cars use.

There is more to come on this subject from Engineering Explained. In fact, this is just part two of a five video series that examines this subject in great depth, so check back for the next video in the series where we will dive deeper into this topic!