REDDITCH, England – GKN Driveline, part of the GNK plc’s global automotive and aerospace engineering group, is strengthening its global footprint with a new automotive manufacturing operation in the increasingly important Russian market.
 
GKN Driveline plans to initially open a 5,000-square-meter plant in Togliatti, a city in the Volga region of Russia, where a number of large car manufacturers are already based. Production of GKN constant velocity jointed sideshafts for a number of automotive customers is expected to commence in early 2015.
 
Andrew Reynolds Smith, CEO of GKN Automotive, said, "Russia is a key growth market for car manufacturers and this is an important step for GKN. A key part of our strategy is to continue the development of our global footprint, building the capability to add more value for our customers across a range of Driveline products. GKN already supplies Driveline products to many of the large car manufacturers in Russia, but the new plant, which is the first of its kind in the country, will offer locally-produced products together with the excellent service our customers already expect from GKN."
 
The Russian automotive industry produces more than 2 million cars each year. Vehicle production is forecast to grow in Russia, according to GNK, driven by increasing demand and government policies that are aimed at creating new production facilities and additional investment in the automotive market.