Late in January, GKN Driveline announced that its order book for electric driveline (eDrive) technologies hit a record £2 billion at the end of last year, following a series of significant orders from major global automotive manufacturers.

Phil Swash, CEO of GKN Automotive (www.gkn.com), said: “Customers world-wide choose to work with GKN on their electric programmes because of our real-world experience in eDrive systems.

“While our competitors talk about the potential of their technologies, we have proven history of delivering innovative electric driveline systems in customers’ cars on the road.

“Our strong order book reflects the partnerships we have developed with our customers and the confidence they have in GKN. We are well positioned to capitalise on the strong market growth in hybrid and electric vehicles.”

GKN says it is developing new technologies to constantly improve electric vehicles. For example, the company’s new multi-speed system — the eTwinsterX (unveiled at the 2017 IAA Frankfurt Motor Show ) — brings torque vectoring and improved handling, performance and efficiency.

GKN has also agreed a multi-year partnership with Panasonic Jaguar Racing, providing design, manufacturing and engineering services to the Formula E team.

GKN’s electric driveline systems are currently helping to power cars such as the Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine, the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, the BMW i8, the Porsche 918 Spyder and the Mitsubishi Outlander — the latter being one of the biggest-selling plug-in hybrids on the market.