The Protege Group, a prominent securities transportation specialist in Brazil, has specified its first fully automatic transmission as part of a pilot project to evaluate new armoured cash transport trucks.
Two armoured high-value cargo light trucks, a Volkswagen 9.160CE and a Mercedes-Benz 915 E, have been equipped with an Allison 2000 Series™ transmissions.
The trial of fully automatic transmissions is designed to make the company’s operations more efficient and productive by improving vehicle agility and robustness, and by extending the life of the transmission and engine components. They are exceeding the company's expectations.
Investment and automatic transmissions
"The Protege Group invests heavily in the well-being and safety of its employees, and automatic transmissions greatly reduce the physical and mental wear on the driver," explains Nelson Dias, Automotive Engineering Manager at the Protege Group.
"The state of alertness for a prompt reaction in any critical situation is a fundamental condition for good work in our segment."
Manual transmission gears
“Automatic trucks have been shown to be less stressful for drivers and for the respective working teams, as they are not subject to the swings so common during the shifting in manual transmission gears,” said Dias.
“The teams are unanimous that there is less physical wear and tear throughout the workday.”
Shorter vehicle downtime
Another finding of the Protege Group’s trial is shorter vehicle downtime. Automatic transmissions do not require clutch systems maintenance, which is common in manual transmissions.
In addition, they provide a more homogeneous operation of the powertrain, avoiding engine overdrive while acting as auxiliaries to the brake system.
Allison 2000 Series
Allison 2000 Series automatic transmissions are designed to equip light commercial vehicles for both cargo and public transport applications.
They can be equipped with a Power Take-Off (PTO) output and have six gears, including overdrive, which guarantees a more agile and simpler operation.
They also have advanced Allison 5th Generation electronic controls, which improve productivity and efficiency strategies as per the needs of the vehicle.