AVL Names Four New Positions

PLYMOUTH, Mich., Nov. 8, 2004 -- AVL Powertrain announced today the appointment of four new positions at its North American headquarters.

Raymond W. Corbin, president and CEO of AVL Powertrain Engineering, Inc., announced, effective immediately:

* Andrew Smart is promoted to head of commercial sales

* Paul Cassidy is appointed to vice president of heavy duty and off- highway business development

* Dwight Hansell, director of business development, will be responsible for all government related strategic market development and sales activities in North America

* Dave Higbie is promoted to director of AVL's Advanced Simulation Technologies (AST)

Andrew Smart has been director of business development for one of AVL's OEM customers for the past four years. He will lead AVL's commercial sales and will be managing customer sales and marketing activities. Smart, with 21 years of experience in powertrain engineering and business development, will coordinate with both OEMs and suppliers.

Prior to joining AVL, Smart was director of marketing and sales with Tickford Engelhard, LLC, Wixom, Mich., where he was responsible for business development. He also held business and engineering responsibilities with Perkins Technology, Troy, Mich.; and project management responsibilities with Perkins Technology, U.K. Smart holds a mechanical engineering degree from University of Central England, Birmingham, U.K. and is a chartered engineer and member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and is an American citizen.

Paul Cassidy, a veteran of more than 40 years in the diesel & heavy duty/off-highway engine business, joins AVL North America as vice president of heavy duty and off-highway business development.

Cassidy's background includes assignments at Perkins Engines, U.K. in engine development; Sulzer, U.K. in rail traction business and at Cummins, U.K. and USA in engine sales, truck engine marketing, technical support, and corporate purchasing. He was responsible for major engine component sales at Krupp Brazil and other engine and vehicle component suppliers for about five years when he decided to move back into the engine design and manufacturing business.

Cassidy headed a series of executive positions at Hercules Engines for approximately five years including: vice president of purchasing and materials, vice president of engineering, and vice president of engineering and sales for natural gas vehicle engines. As a private consultant, he headed projects with Detroit Diesel Corp. involving natural gas vehicle and industrial engines. Most recently, Cassidy was VP of business development for a well-known engineering consultancy, responsible for clients primarily in the heavy duty powertrain, vehicle, and related industries. He is a 1961 graduate of the University of Liverpool, U.K. with a first class honors degree in mechanical engineering.

Dwight Hansell, a member of the AVL team since 2003, is appointed to director of business development with responsibility for all government related strategic market development and sales activities in North America.

Hansell has been director of business development for one of AVL's OEM accounts in North America. Before joining AVL, Hansell held various leadership positions in sales and marketing at Ballard Power Systems and Raychem Corporation; and engineering, sales and marketing positions at General Motors. Hansell holds an engineering degree from the University of Illinois and a master's degree in business administration from the graduate school of business at Stanford University.

David Higbie has been with AVL since 2001. As the new director of AVL's Advanced Simulation Technologies (AST) business unit in the U.S., Dave Higbie will assume leadership of the AST Team and manage North American sales, support and software development. Higbie succeeds Albert Turtscher, who has returned to AVL's Graz Global Headquarters to assume a new role within the AST organization.

In recent years, Higbie worked in the Computer Aided Engineering, (CAE) software industry creating applications, consulting and providing user support. Higbie received an M.S. degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan in 1995.

AVL is the world's largest privately owned and independent company for the development of gasoline, diesel and alternative fuel powertrain systems, as well as fuel cell and hybrid technologies. The company offers combined solutions of powertrain engineering, simulation software and testing and instrumentation systems. AVL's North American Headquarters is located in the Detroit suburb of Plymouth, Michigan, with an additional Test Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. AVL has 2,850 employees worldwide.