The overall weight of the transmission is lowered by 18 per cent. This new transmission system replaces the mechanical connection between the selector lever and the transmission with an electrical link transmitting gearshift information - the Electronic Gearshift Function (EGF).
The driver's commands are passed on to the EGF unit in the transmission via the selector lever on the steering column. EGF checks whether gears may be shifted as required and initiates the electronic gearshift process.
Further advantages of EGF are the reduction in space required for the gearshift components, the higher degree of technical freedom in choosing the gearshift elements (Steptronic buttons on the steering wheel, selector lever on the steering column, etc.) as well as the elimination of vibrations and noise due to the absence of a mechanical connection between the selector lever and the transmission.
