Ricardo, the hi-tech engineering company, has followed up a major US military contract by clinching a landmark deal in the Chinese automotive industry.

Ricardo, which has a thriving Cambridge centre specialising in control & electronics technology, is collaborating with Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Co Ltd (JAC) in the development of a new 2.0 litre turbo-diesel for JAC’s expanding product range. Ricardo tells Business Weekly that business in China is very positive at present.

Under the terms of the deal, Ricardo engineers based both at Ricardo Shanghai as well as the company’s UK technical centres, will work with their counterparts at JAC to develop the new intercooled engine.

The new product is aimed at meeting robustly the requirements of Euro 5 emissions regulations, reflecting the importance of emissions compliance in Chinese and international markets.

The engineering team will also aim to ensure that the new engine delivers the highly competitive performance, packaging, refinement and durability targets established for application in JAC’s future vehicle range.

Development of the new engine will take place across three distinct phases of concept and definitive design and analysis, and performance and emissions development, and will commence immediately.

Ricardo UK Ltd managing director Martin Fausset said: “The contract marks a further development of the extremely positive relationship between our two companies. The Chinese market is important to the future growth of Ricardo as we seek to assist the country’s vehicle makers develop globally competitive products capable of achieving the very latest emissions regulations while also satisfying the increasing demands of end users.”

Ricardo recently completed the build of the FED ALPHA vehicle as part of the Fuel Efficient Ground Vehicle Demonstrator (FED) programme for the U.S. Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC). It has now been awarded a contract for the testing phase, which is currently underway.

Robert Ellis, director for military vehicle programmes for Ricardo’s US subsidiary, Ricardo Inc said: “The FED programme represents an ideal application of Ricardo’s expertise in armoured vehicle design and fuel efficiency improvements.”

The goal of the FED programme, launched in late 2008, is to improve military vehicle technology, reduce fuel consumption on the battlefield and reduce the nation’s dependence on oil.

Ricardo has applied its expertise in the design, development and manufacturing of special vehicles, and advanced automotive technology to create a demonstration vehicle that maximises fuel economy while maintaining the capability and performance of light tactical wheeled vehicles.

• PHOTOGRAPH: Generic engineering testing at Ricardo