Interview: GKN Driveline chief executive Phil Swash

There are rarely many big surprises at car shows these days.

While once upon a time manufacturers waited for the exhibition hall doors to open before performing the big reveal, today’s events are typically robbed of their drama by months of pre-show hype.

Nevertheless, they do still provide a useful indication of the sector’s direction of travel. And at this year’s vast Frankfurt motor show there was one word on everyone’s lips: electrification. In a relatively short space of time, this subject has moved from the fringes to the centre-stage of the sector’s strategy.

Unsurprisingly, it was the household names who grabbed the headlines, with Audi, BMW, Mercedes and others all unveiling a mix of new models and thought-provoking concepts.

But from a technology point of view, it was the degree to which the industry’s key suppliers were talking about electrification that was perhaps most striking. Suppliers like GKN Driveline, the automotive division of UK engineering multinational GKN.