Russia's AvtoVaz Awards New Euro 5 Engine Teamwork Design Contract to Ricardo

AUTO CENTRAL – March 11, 2009: It was announced today that Ricardo and JSC AVTOVAZ – Russia’s largest car and SUV manufacturer – will collaborate on the design and development of the new VAZ-21176 VVT gasoline engine

The new contract marks a further stage in the rapid expansion of Ricardo in Russia, a market in which the company finds its advanced technology and flexibility of engineering and consulting services subject to an unprecedented level of demand. The new engine programme will involve the rigorous evaluation of the existing equivalent product by Ricardo, prior to commencement of a full design and development programme intended to deliver a new power unit calibrated to Euro 5 emissions levels in a C-segment AVTOVAZ vehicle. In addition to the new design benefiting from Ricardo’s advanced automotive technology and design, testing and calibration skills, AVTOVAZ will also gain in terms of technology transfer as the programme is structured in a manner enabling co-working between its engineers and those of the Ricardo team.

Commenting on this significant contract win, Ricardo CEO, Dave Shemmans, said:

“Ricardo is growing rapidly in the Russian market as the country’s automakers seek use our technology and expertise to upgrade their product ranges and compete globally in terms of performance, fuel economy and emissions. It is particularly gratifying therefore for Ricardo to have been awarded this important new engine design and development contract by AVTOVAZ, Russia’s largest automaker. We look forward to working together with them on this exciting programme.”