GKN Driveline (www.gkn.com) is expanding its presence in China with the construction of a new production facility through its Chinese joint venture Shanghai GKN Huayu Driveline Systems (SDS).

The 10,000m² plant in Pinghu, Zhejiang Province, will initially make gears for eDrive systems and for all-wheel-drive systems.

The first eDrive unit produced by SDS — the Multimode eTransmission for a Chinese vehicle manufacturer — is due to roll off the production line later this year, and there will be a significant ramp-up of production in the coming years.

China will become a major production hub for GKN’s ‘state of the art’ electric drivelines, and the company forecasts that SDS could be making one million eDrive units per year by 2025.

Greg MacLean, deputy general manager of SDS, said: “The growth of vehicle electrification is accelerating faster in China than anywhere else in the world. With strong support from GKN, SDS is investing in people and facilities to meet the demand.”

The introduction of eDrive technology builds on GKN and SDS’s proven history of successfully implementing new driveline technologies in China.

In 1988, GKN became the first Tier One automotive supplier to establish a joint venture in China, bringing the latest technology in driveshafts to the market and subsequently building a market-leading position.