What does 'CVT' stand for in automotive terms?
Answer
Continuously variable transmission
In automotive terms, “CVT” stands for continuously variable transmission.
Unlike a conventional manual or automatic transmission, which uses a set of fixed gear ratios, a CVT can vary its ratio continuously across a range. The engine can therefore operate near a preferred speed while the transmission adjusts the relationship between engine and road speed.
The most familiar automotive CVT uses two variable-diameter pulleys connected by a belt or chain. Moving the pulley halves changes the effective diameters and therefore the ratio. Other designs include toroidal and hydrostatic CVTs. The technology is much older than modern showroom cars: Milton Reeves developed a variable-speed transmission in the United States in 1879, while the Dutch DAF 600 helped popularize automotive CVTs from 1958.
A common mix-up is expanding CVT as “constant velocity transmission.” That phrase is not the standard automotive meaning. CVT also does not mean that the vehicle travels at a constant speed; it refers to the continuously adjustable transmission ratio.