Magna wins largest transmission tech contract in company history

Magna International said BMW Group has awarded the supplier its largest production order for transmission technologies in the company’s history.

Magna will build dual-clutch and hybrid transmissions for the German automaker under a multi-year contract. The supplier did not disclose the length or the financial terms of the contract.

A Magna spokesman said the company is very limited in what it can disclose at this point, at the request of BMW.  

The products will be built at Magna’s plants in Germany and Slovakia, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

The multi-year contract includes all front-wheel-drive, dual-clutch transmissions, including hybrid transmission variants. The transmission technologies will be used in more than 170 different vehicle applications, though the supplier didn’t say how many vehicle models will feature the technology. Nor did the company say how many units will be produced on an annual basis or when production is scheduled to begin.

Magna said its new hybrid solution has no impact on the overall package size of the transmission, “which provides manufacturing flexibility to BMW.” 

The hybrid variants also use a compact, 48V high-rpm electric motor within the transmission housing, “providing innovative driving features while further improving fuel efficiency.”

Magna, based in Aurora, Ontario, ranks No. 3 on the Automotive News list of top 100 global suppliers, with 2018 sales to automakers of $40.8 billion