Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant has started adapting a new automatic transmission for the "Patriot" SUV and the pickup truck based on it. Cars with "automatic", which have not been produced since 2022, may return to dealerships approximately by 2028. This was reported to Autonews.ru by a source familiar with the situation.
Work on the integration of the transmission is already underway: engineers are calibrating the electronics, conducting bench and road tests. One of the major Chinese companies acted as the supplier of the units — its name has not yet been disclosed. The press service of UAZ confirmed the fact of technical work related to the introduction of a new automatic transmission, but refrained from commenting on the timing and characteristics.
Until 2022, UAZ vehicles were equipped with six-speed 6L50 hydromechanical automatic transmissions from the French company Punch Powerglide. After the supplier left, the production of versions with "automatic" was suspended.
It is expected that the Chinese transmission will require refinement of the engine control unit software and adjustment of interaction with the transfer case — these are standard procedures when changing the type of automatic transmission on frame SUVs. At the same time, specialists are assessing the resource of the unit in Russian operating conditions: low temperatures, off-road, high loads.