TRANSFORMER BASED VARIABLE VOLTAGE CONVERTER

A vehicle electric drive includes a battery, an electric machine, and a variable voltage converter. The variable voltage converter includes switches, a transformer having a pair of windings sharing a common terminal with a series connected input capacitor, and an inductor electrically between the switches and transformer. The transformer and input capacitor are in parallel with the battery. The variable voltage converter is configured to boost voltage of the battery via operation of the switches.