Dr. Tobias Sünner
Photo: © General Motors
GM has announced that it has appointed Dr. Tobias Sünner as the president of its Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC), effective June 1st, 2015. Sünner will operate out of the headquarters of GM’s Shanghai-based automotive engineering and design joint venture with SAIC.
“Tobias brings to PATAC a strong background in automotive engineering, including new energy vehicles, in both Europe and North America,” said GM Executive Vice President and President of GM China Matt Tsien. “His expertise will benefit our team of professionals as they carry out projects for GM and its joint ventures.”
Sünner has spent more than 20 years with GM, dating back to the beginning of his career with Adam Opel in 1993. In the time since, Sünner has worked primarily in vehicle air conditioning, engine cooling, electronics, and acoustics. In 2008, he began a two-year stint in Detroit, where he oversaw engineering for compact vehicles.
He also spearheaded electrical systems development for hybrid and electric vehicles at Opel and GM Europe, as well as serving as the executive director for Vehicle Development for GM Europe. Since 2012, Sünner has been GM’s executive chief engineer of compact cars.
Sünner will be replacing Mark LaBaere, who is moving into a new role in Vehicle Set Strategy for Global Product Development in the United States.
“We appreciate the work that Mark has done overseeing PATAC since 2013,” said Tsien. “Under his leadership, PATAC carried out several important product programs for Shanghai GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling. It also developed the Chevrolet-FNR autonomous electric concept vehicle, which was one of the most talked about vehicles at Auto Shanghai 2015.”
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