Evolution to Revolution

Examining the evolution of the automobile is easy. Since the early 1900s, there has been a myriad of advancements leading to today’s well-wired, sensor-rich cars. These improvements have centered on key areas such as engine power and performance, safety, driver and passenger convenience, ride quality, fuel source, data-relay and entertainment.

It’s impossible though to really look at that same evolution and not discuss the innovation underneath the car in the form of powertrain systems. The transfer of power from a car’s engine to its wheels and beyond has undergone a series of advances so remarkable that some in recent years might truly be termed revolutionary. Especially when you match their capabilities against power delivery systems of the past.

The fast-paced, customer-driven automotive industry has taken on the challenges of rapidly changing power demands of electric, hydrogen, hybrid and gas-powered vehicles. Add to this tightening governmental regulation, global competition, ever-increasing demands for safer vehicles regardless of power plant, and shifting, and sometimes vacillating, consumer demand. All of these challenges have set the course for a future that puts the powertrain front and center in technological development.

At TE Connectivity (TE), the word powertrain reaches into every corner of its rich engineering history. In fact, it is part and parcel to the products and capabilities TE offers, from its broad portfolio of powertrain parts, components and sensors today, to its commitment in developing technologies the automotive industry needs to relay power through every vehicle driving down future roadways no matter what the energy source.