GKN Driveline (www.gkn.com)— a global player in advanced and electrified driveline technology — has started production at its ‘state of the art’ manufacturing facility in Villagran, Mexico.

The $17.5 million operation will serve Mexico‘s fast-growing automotive sector and the strong growth in local and global demand for all-wheel-drive (AWD) vehicles.

GKN Driveline CEO Phil Swash said: “The increasing world-wide demand for all-wheel-drive vehicles is driving growth for GKN’s lightweight high-performance driveline technologies. GKN is introducing innovative propshaft designs that save weight and increase efficiency, while also making vehicle integration simpler.

“This expansion of GKN’s existing footprint in Mexico strengthens the company’s position as the leading supplier of driveline systems for global vehicle platforms; it will also enable us to support further growth in Mexico’s automotive sector.”

The 12,000sq m site is GKN Driveline’s second plant in Villagran, which is a centre for automotive manufacturing. The facility is producing a new type of higher-performance propshaft, the GKN Vli; this is faster to assemble and can
operate at higher rotational speeds.

Customers include Audi, BMW, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Nissan and Volkswagen. At full capacity, the plant will produce more than a million propshafts a year and will employ 380 people. It also houses new constant-velocity-joint machining facilities, as well as a new propshaft painting line.

GKN Driveline established a presence in Mexico in 1979 and now employs 2,075 people at its three plants.