The e-LSD alternative to AWD

Eaton's new-for-2018 electronic limited-slip differential offers mass, fuel-consumption, and packaging benefits over typical AWD while enhancing vehicle dynamic control.

Is engineering a new vehicle for all-wheel drive worth the cost, weight, and fuel consumption penalties for perhaps 10% of volume on some platforms?

For mass-market C- and D-segment sedans, forcing the packaging penalty of a propshaft tunnel on 100% of production in order to accommodate a small portion of AWD models may not be a worthwhile tradeoff given the pressures of meeting 2025 CAFE and European CO₂ laws. Some vehicle planners and chief engineers who have weighed these options say a high-performing electronic limited-slip differential (e-LSD) coupled with either front- or rear-wheel drive can satisfy most of the AWD performance expectation.