OREANDA-NEWS. November 12, 2012. GAZ Group and diversified industrial corporation Eaton have announced the start of production of GAZelle Business and Sobol Business with ELocker electronic locking differential that helps significantly increase the vehicle cross-country ability on bad roads, reported the press-centre of GAZ Group.

ELocker system was developed for the markets of countries with difficult climate and road conditions and was reworked taking into account peculiarities of the Russian climate. Locking differential provides for torque transfer to the second driving wheel in case one of the driving wheels hits ice, loose snow, mud etc. This helps to avoid wheel slip. With the option cost of only RUR 12,000 it is an efficient way to increase vehicle cross-country ability with minimal costs.
The differential will be installed on rear-drive GAZ vehicles as an option, and will be included into basic configuration of all-wheel-drive modifications. The first supplies of GAZelle and Sobol light commercial vehicles will begin in December 2012 and the sales throughout the dealer network – at the beginning of 2013.

Bo Andersson, President/CEO of GAZ Group: "Installation of electronic locking differential by Eaton will allow us to significantly improve GAZ vehicles performance characteristics with minimal costs for the customers. Cooperation with the world’s leading component manufacturers such as Eaton helps GAZ Group to renew the model range according to the current standards of the global auto industry and offer to our clients the best solutions at a reasonable price".

Deborah Kullman, Vice President and General Manager of Eaton Automotive Controls: "We worked closely together with GAZ Group’s specialists to develop ELocker differentials for GAZelle and Sobol vehicles. This technology showed its worth in South American countries where road conditions are also quite difficult. Releasing ELocker on the Russian market we confirm that this technology is efficient in various conditions of operation. For us it is also the first step in implementation of this technology in Europe, Middle East and Africa. In this region we see a great potential for increasing towing performance and cross-country ability, particularly of LCVs".