6 ways Dana is leading the charge in electrifying the high-performance vehicle market

As the world places a stronger emphasis on leveraging sustainable solutions to reduce environmental impact, the global mobility market is undoubtedly shifting toward electrification. Each region and vehicle segment is strategizing – albeit at varying speeds – on the best way to meet regulatory and consumer sustainability targets. While the North American commercial-vehicle segment and the passenger car market in Europe are moving rapidly, the high-performance segment is developing more slowly, as car makers look to leverage supplier partners to deliver innovative solutions that will help them achieve emissions targets without compromising the driving experience.

Balancing emissions reductions with performance is a tall order — one that requires a supplier with a unique combination of specialized competencies. When Dana acquired the Graziano® brand in 2019, the company brought all of those competencies together, positioning itself as a leader in the electrification of high-performance vehicles. Here’s a look at how Dana and its recently launched Graziano® High-Performance Electrified™ brand is ready to help this segment take its vehicles to the next level. 

Over the course of the last 20 years, the Graziano brand has become synonymous with some of the most exotic and fastest high-performance vehicles on the market. From Aston Martin and McLaren to Lamborghini, Ferrari, and more, Graziano customers demand the most bespoke, precise, and highest-quality transmission technologies available — and the brand consistently delivers. 

Continual evolution and innovation are key reasons Graziano has been so successful. From the beginning, the brand has been on a mission to develop transmission systems that are more sophisticated than their predecessors, with the desired levels of power, ranges of torque, and software integration. Today, with aggressive emissions targets, particularly in Europe and Asia, Dana has introduced the Graziano High-Performance Electrified brand, which continues this mission by adding a focus on developing electrified solutions.

Together with the Spicer® and Graziano brands, Dana is one of the largest independent providers of gears globally. The company’s strong competence in gear engineering is particularly beneficial when it comes to vehicle electrification because the transmission system is one of the first areas high-performance OEMs seek to electrify. 

To that end, Dana has worked diligently over the years to perfect its gear engineering. From metallurgy to physics, the company optimizes every aspect of gearing — delivering some of the most consistent, reliable, smooth, and efficient products on the market. 

Dana leverages the specialized high-end gearing expertise from the Graziano brand, in combination with a full range of in-house electrodynamic capabilities, to deliver all core elements of complete, fully integrated electrified systems for high-performance vehicles. With all these competencies under one roof, Dana has a unique understanding of how each component interacts with one another.

Even if a customer isn’t looking for a complete e-Propulsion system, which is often the case in the high-performance market, Dana’s full system competence enables the development of components and modules – including controls and calibration – that are optimized for efficient packaging and seamless integration.

End customers in the high-performance sector have one thing in common: they desire a driving experience that, simply put, doesn’t compromise performance. They want to hear the unique sound of their exotic engine, feel the gravity against them as they accelerate, and experience luxury at every turn. High-performance customers expect that when they get behind the wheel, they’ll have an experience that just can’t be delivered in a typical electrified application. 

As a result, OEMs are faced with the challenge of finding ways to integrate enough electrification into their vehicles to meet emissions targets and promote sustainability, while preserving the feeling of driving a traditional ICE-powered vehicle. Dana is actively developing modular and integrated solutions, such as its hybridized dual-clutch transmissions, to achieve just that.

For example, the company’s highly sophisticated P2.5 hybrid dual-clutch transmission systems integrate the hybrid connection between the electric motor and both transmissions shafts, enabling a variety of features like boosting, full electric drive, and battery recharging. Developed in a compact and lightweight package, it’s a solution that is often considered additive to the traditional driving experience that customers are used to.

Because many high-performance OEMs generally desire to retain the conventional engine in their vehicles, they are turning to supplier partners to help them hybridize their existing platforms, quickly. Dana has experience packaging electrified content into existing drivetrains for a full spectrum of high-performance vehicles, from premium performance vehicles, to sports cars, to exotic applications.

Dana can hybridize a car by offering solutions for either the front or the rear axle, which eliminates the need to get involved with the complexity of the engine. For example, by integrating the company’s hybrid rear axle module (HRAM) into the rear axle, Dana offers OEMs the opportunity to hybridize a rear-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicle quickly and efficiently, while maintaining the existing platform. Likewise, a hybrid front axle module can be developed for a mid-engine car, offering a fast solution for hybridizing the vehicle.

While the high-performance market is not yet demanding fully electric powertrains for the most exotic applications, Dana is working with OEMs to explore the integration of complete electric axles in emerging hybrid platforms to see how end customers respond. 

Dana is a truly global company, with presence in 33 countries. This expansive footprint ensures that the organization has resources available to support customers wherever they may be. Knowing that Europe is on a fast track toward electrification, Dana recently expanded its gear manufacturing facility in Hungary, adding laser welding and axle assembly capabilities to support new vehicle programs in the region.

Additionally, Dana leverages its global network of technology centers, located across nine countries, to facilitate collaborative innovation and knowledge-sharing, accelerate new product development, and help Dana remain at the forefront of regional and market trends.

Understanding the importance of balancing these global manufacturing capabilities with the need to be environmentally responsible, Dana has committed to reduce its annual greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent before the end of 2035. 

Vehicle electrification and hybridization is new territory, especially in the high-performance market. However, with the rich market knowledge and specialty gearing expertise acquired from the Graziano brand, combined with the vast electrification capabilities of Dana, the company is ideally suited to support high-performance OEMs as they work to meet the targets required of the next generation of vehicles. Whether they need a custom electrified transmission, or a mass-produced e-Propulsion system, Dana has the expertise and the flexibility to deliver the best solution for any given scenario. To learn more about Dana’s electrified solutions for high-performance vehicles, visit dana.com.