Following the restructure of the old Borg Warner transmission plant in Albury, on the Victorian-NSW border, into Drivetrain Systems International, Australia will soon be manufacturing and exporting automatic transmissions in four, five, six and seven-speed variations.

This generates an opportunity for Holden and Ford to fit state-of-the-art automatic transmissions at local prices.

Currently, Ford is the only local company to fit a DSI automatic transmission: the four-speed that is fitted to entry Falcon and Territory models. By late 2005, this transmission had been refined to benchmark levels for a four-speed automatic, generating better fuel economy, more intuitive shifting and smoother operation.

Late in 2006, it was further tweaked for extra efficiency. In the Australian context, its overhaul costs are a fraction of imported transmissions. 

Until recently, this four-speed auto was used by Maserati and is currently exported to Korea for installation in a variety of Ssangyong models.

This week, Ssangyong announced that DSI Australia would soon be offering a six-speed automatic built in the same casing as the current four-speed. Because it won't require any modification to the chassis or floorpan, Ssangyong announced it will be seamlessly added to its range as soon as it becomes available.

The same principle should also apply to local Ford models. Even if Ford chooses not to replace the expensive ZF six-speed automatic currently offered in its premium models, the new DSI six-speed automatic could be offered as a value-packed upgrade over the current four-speed in entry level models.

Ssangyong also announced it would be later taking advantage of DSI's new range of five and seven-speed automatic transmissions. These could prove to be of interest to Holden.

Currently, the entry VE Omega and Berlina models trail the best in class with Holden's base 180kW V6 and its relatively crude four-speed automatic transmission. Unlike Ford which offers its ZF six-speed auto as part of the ES option pack on the base Falcon model, Holden claims that the premium 195kW engine and its European five-speed auto are too expensive to fit to the Omega and Berlina models.

A new Australian automatic transmission with a choice of five or seven speeds could change all this for the local VE range if not all the export examples as well.

Ssangyong executives indicated that they would also introduce this new five and seven speed auto as soon as it became available. DSI has also just won an export order to supply transmissions for Indian car company, Mahindra, a brand due for national launch in June.

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