Last month, GKN Automotive — the world’s leading supplier of automotive all-wheel-drive and electric-driveline technology and systems — delivered its one millionth eDrive system.
Demand for the company’s eDrive portfolio, which encompasses a range of driveline technologies for electrified vehicles, has increased markedlyin recent years, and it currently has five eDrive mass production projects in progress in China and Europe.
Hannes Prenn, COO of GKN Automotive ePowertrain (
www.gknpm.com), said: “It is always a proud moment when GKN Automotive reaches a significantproduction milestone, and this one is particularly significant, as it underlines our leadership in the fast-growing eDrive segment.
"The strength and breadth of our current eDrive order book is a testament to our heritage of eDrive innovation, development and integration, as well as our ability to meet the exacting quality and production targets set by our customers.”
GKN Automotive has been ‘pioneering’ eDrive technologies since 2002, starting with transmissions, then eMotor and transmission systems, through to fully integrated motor, gearbox and inverter systems.
GKN Automotive’s eDrive experience is proven by its support of numerous OEMs with their “evolving line-ups of electrified vehicles”, including BMW, Mitsubishi, Porsche and Volvo.
Mr Prenn added: “GKN Automotive has continued to pioneer the very latest developments in the industry’s shift to ever-more-advanced eDrive systems.
“The company is currently supplying a volume OEM with a semi-integrated three-in-one eRad project — incorporating eMotor, transmission and inverter — for vehicles destined for China and Europe; and later this year, GKN Automotive will supply a global premium OEM with a semi-integrated three-in-one eDrive system.”
GKN Automotive is also collaborating with Drive System Design and the University of Nottingham on an £8 million project to design and develop the world’s lightest and most efficient electric-vehicle powertrain suitable for the volume market.
This initiative is match-funded by the Advanced Propulsion Centre — an organisation created by the UK Government’s Automotive Council to fund UK-based R&D projects aimed at developing low-carbon-emission powertrain technologies.