Most modern Toyota hybrid vehicles commonly use an e-CVT, or electronic continuously variable transmission.
Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive does not operate like a conventional belt-and-pulley CVT. Instead, it uses a planetary power-split device together with motor-generators and computer-controlled power electronics. This arrangement blends power from the gasoline engine and electric motors while continuously varying the effective ratio between engine speed and wheel speed.
The design helps keep the combustion engine near efficient operating conditions. One motor-generator can regulate the engine’s speed and generate electricity, while the traction motor drives the wheels and can recover energy during braking. Because the system has no traditional stepped gears for the driver to select, acceleration is generally smooth and may produce the characteristic rising engine note associated with a CVT.
“e-CVT” is therefore more precise for Toyota’s hybrid system than simply calling it a normal CVT. It is also not a torque-converter automatic, DCT or conventional manual gearbox. Toyota first introduced the technology in the Prius and later used related versions across Toyota and Lexus hybrid models.