Sales, which were previously forecast to rise from £33 million in 2017 to £200 million in 2020, are now expected to increase over eight-fold to £275 million. In 2022, GKN forecasts that eDrive sales will reach £500 million.
The company says its success has been achieved through a long term commitment to R&D. In 2017, the R&D expense charged to the income statement was £36 million, with total investment of over £123 million over the past six years.
Whilst impacting near-term financial performance, this investment is now delivering strong sales and order book growth. Through the R&D programme, GKN is rapidly bringing full systems capability to the market and is able to offer a range of solutions to meet customer demands.
GKN is delivering components, sub-systems and full-systems in response to a variety of OEM needs. Building on systems integration expertise recognised by recent Automotive News PACE Awards, GKN will be adding GKN eMotors to their gear and torque management technology portfolio.
As at 31st December 2017, GKN’s order book relating to eDrive was £2 billion following a number of major programme wins. Amongst these are:
Our leading vehicle and systems integration capabilities help deliver the performance our customers demand and that’s why they come to us ahead of our competition. 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 and this is underpinned by our substantial order book.”
GKN www.gkn.com