Kia will begin deploying a new seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, or DCT, for its vehicles in 2015, with almost every passenger car model in the Kia range expected to benefit from the more efficient and faster cog-swapper.
And that includes the Korean car-maker's breakthrough hot hatch, the Pro_cee'd GT.
The eye-catching European designed and built performance hatch is currently only available with a six-speed manual, and has been a relatively slow seller as a result. More than eight out of 10 new cars sold in Australia today are automatics.
In a round table talk with a small group of Aussie journalists, Jurgen Grimm, the head of powertrain engineering for Hyundai and Kia, confirmed that the $29,990 hottie will indeed get a seven-speed DCT, along with several others.
"It will start in 2015," said Grimm, when asked about the deployment of the DCT for passenger cars.
"We will see it next year in various kinds of cars in both brands," he said, noting that Hyundai will get the new DCT as well. The current DCT offered at extra cost in Hyundai's Veloster is a six-speed unit.
"We have only a little bit of difference regarding the tuning [of the DCT for performance models]. We'd love to do it more sporty especially for Asia, US and maybe for Australia," Grimm said when asked if the seven-speed unit would be recalibrated for the Pro_cee'd GT.
The advent of an automatic is a make-or-break proposition for the Pro_cee'd GT in Australia, where sales of around 35 per month are unsustainable.
The lack of an auto is costing sales admitted Kia Australia General Manager, Media and Corporate Communications, Kevin Hepworth. Sales of the car would treble if an automatic became available, the Kia executive said.
"We would anticipate over a 100 [sales per month] if we got an auto, especially a DCT. There's no doubt at all the lack of an auto is costing considerable sales. It's just a fact of life in Australia," he said.
When motoring.com.au asked if the car could die a slow death if the DCT took two years to materialise, a reasonable timetable, Hepworth was candid.
"I would hope not. I think it'd be a very strong [internal] fight against that. It's such a highly regarded car, you guys all rate it. It's the one halo car that's in the Kia range at the moment," he observed.
Sister brand Hyundai has already debuted the seven-speed DCT in a natural gas-powered i30 concept car.
Kia/Hyundai powertrain supremo Grimm said the dual-clutch jobbie would be rolled out in two guises – one for petrol, one for diesel – and then high performance versions could follow.
"We will introduce two versions [of DCT] to the market. One is mainly defined for gasoline versions, to take up to 270Nm. And we have a diesel version, to take 320, 330Nm. We will have a complete rollout," revealed Grimm.
"It will come for cee'd, Optima, even for the smaller cars like the Rio," he said. It's unclear if larger models such as the Sorento, equipped with the 2.2-litre turbo-diesel, will be offered with the first-generation DCT.
The prime reason for the introduction of the new DCT is to reduce CO2 emissions, says Grimm, but a tasty side-effect is the added performance of quicker shifting gears than a regular epicyclic auto, which uses a torque convertor.
"For the European market we don't need a standard torque convertor transmission. The focus is that much on CO2, therefore DCT from the CO2 benefit is unbeatable."
Grimm also said he thinks the strong-selling Kia Rio could get the DCT before its next-generation successor arrives in a couple of years.