Aeva announced that it is expanding its presence in Europe with a new Automotive Center of Excellence (COE) in Germany to support its growing momentum with automotive OEM customers. Additionally, autonomous vehicle industry expert Axel Gern has joined the company as Head of Engineering in Germany and will lead the COE. Axel is an automotive engineering veteran and thought leader with more than 20 years of experience in the development of advanced driver assistance systems, autonomous driving, and software development.

Within his role, he is building and leading a strong local engineering team within the COE. Previously, Mr. Gern has held senior engineering leadership positions at Mercedes Benz, Daimler Truck and Torc Robotics. Most recently he served as Senior Vice President of Engineering and Managing Director for Torc Robotics Europe.

Prior to Torc, he helped build the strategy and team for Daimler Truck?s Autonomous Technology Group (ATG). Axel gained experience with the Silicon Valley style of innovation during his time at Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America in Sunnyvale where he built up its Autonomous Driving Department.