PERSONALITY PROFILE
What was your career path up to now?
I started at GKN in 1996 as an electrifi cation
engineer. From there I had several roles:
I was chief engineer for our specialty
engineering group, which was a lot of fun,
working on a range of products including
ATVs. Then I went to commercial roles with
program management, launching big projects.
Later on, I switched completely to operations
and at the beginning of this year I became the
chief operating offi cer for GKN Automotive on
the e-powertrain unit.
What are the best and worst parts of your job?
As I’ve worked in quite a few roles at the
company I’ve really liked seeing development
on both sides of the fence. I’m an engineer at
heart so I’m really excited about the subject
and defi ning new technologies. On the
negative side, the hours are long. It’s a global
business so I’m traveling a lot, but I like to be
close to people and our plants. I’m a fi rm
believer that people make the difference.
PROFILE: HANNES PRENN
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In your opinion, what challenges does the
industry face in propulsion development?
There are a couple of challenges, but for me it
is mainly around battery performance. We’re
talking about range, durability, weight, cost
and also charging time, which is holding the
industry back. If we’re looking at the drivetrain,
it is NVH, demands for high-quality, as well as
the system engineering, which needs to
transform from mechanical to electrical.
In addition to this, legislation is pushing
the industry to develop faster, so timing is
a challenge. We need to make sure we are
working as quickly as possible to support this.
Does legislation help or hinder development?
Legislation is helping this journey to
electrifi cation. It forces the industry and the
OEMs to think outside the box. China has the
fastest-growing EV market and I don’t think
this would have been the case if legislation
didn’t push for it. It’s the same in Norway,
where 58.4% of new cars sales in 2018 were
Job title: Chief operating offi cer
Company: GKN Automotive
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/www.electrichybridvehicletechnology.com