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BRUSSELS • DETROIT • SINGAPORE contents 18 Winter 2001/2002

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NEWS FEATURES QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Industry update 4 Record run with 6 A telematics viewpoint 13 European get heavier as American A W12 engine in a purpose-built, mid- In reply to Rob Golding’s analysis of the cars shed weight, MG’s X80 will have a engined, speed-record powered future for telematics, Don Newton, director superplastic aluminium skin, rubber Volkswagen to a proud entry in the of Control and Electronics at Ricardo, gives revolutions in cereal-filled tyres and Guinness Book of Records. It lapped ’s his view lightweight components, drive-by-wire Nardo circuit for 24 hours at over 300km/h – databuses move forward, sulphur-free fuel and put its six-speed Ricardo transmission Jean-Martin Folz 18 call for Europe by 2008. Plus a message to a gruelling test. Tony Lewin reports The chief executive officer of PSA Peugeot from Ricardo chief executive Rodney Citroën, the fastest-growing carmaker in the Westhead Telematics: the way ahead 8 auto industry, talks to Tony Lewin about The possibilities for information, his company’s policy of independent News from Ricardo 20 communication and entertainment are vast ownership and selective co-operation with DEPE consortium creates a new online – and so are the profit opportunities. Rob other carmakers. It seems to be working experimentation guide, Ricardo Inc is to Golding gives a glimpse of what the build a new Detroit Technology Campus, telematics revolution has in store Reynard Le Mans racer has a new transmission, ’s largest motorcycle Proud to be in Prague 14 maker uses Ricardo software, Hummer H2 Ricardo opened an engineering centre in gets engineering support from Ricardo. And the in 2000. Anthony a run-down of the company’s record Lewis meets the key players, who have financial results some pioneering tales to tell

Editor: John Simister Sales enquiries Design editor: Paul Bale at Visual Image UK: +44 (0) 1273 455611 Editorial director: Tony Lewin USA: +1 (734) 397 6666 : +49 (0) 711 806082-20 Czech Republic: +42 0296331150 Ricardo marketing team Business development: [email protected] Marketing manager: Anthony Smith Head office: Ricardo plc, Bridge Works, Shoreham-by-Sea, +44 (0) 1273 794460, [email protected] West Sussex BN43 5FG, United Kingdom

Winter 2001/2002 Ricardo Quarterly Review 3 in brief European cars gain weight Market is ready for intelligent chips while Americans diet Alcatel Microelectronics has launched a new transceiver PERCEPTIONS of American cars as with an intelligent microcon- oversize and overweight are out of date, troller embedded in its own says a report in Automotive Environment circuitry. The V1.2 local inter- Analyst. Paul Nieuwenhuis and Peter Wells at Cardiff University’s Centre for connect network (LIN) chip Research tracked the will suit new single-wire data- weights of various European and bus technology, and can American car ranges since 1965, and dis- work with 42-volt as well as covered that while European cars have 12-volt systems. Alcatel esti- put on a lot of weight, American cars have tended In Europe, the improvement in engine efficiency mates that from 2003 at to become leaner. has been offset by major weight gains, but the least three LIN nodes will be Striking examples include the Ford Cortina and swing towards diesels has improved the CO2 pic- installed in new cars. Mondeo, 815kg and 1320kg respectively, and the ture in partial compensation. As model ranges Lincoln Continental, down from 2330kg to 1760kg. have moved upmarket and gained weight, main- Bosch predicts 50 per The energy crisis of 1973 was clearly a major stream carmakers have added lighter models cent GDI by 2007 impetus, because the steepest weight drop was beneath them – but this hasn’t happened with pre- Industry’s pledge to reduce between 1975 and 1985. However, little weight has mium brands. The exception is the all-aluminium been put back on since then thanks to CAFE A2, but at 895kg it’s barely lighter than steel- average CO2 emissions to 140g/km by 2008 will accel- (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) regulations. bodied mainstream equivalents. erate acceptance of petrol Recent gentle rises are the result of fuel efficiency Despite similar weights, American cars of the direct injection, says Bosch. improvements without concurrent tightening of 1960s were rather larger than modern European Combining the technology CAFE rules. cars. Modern cars are ‘denser’, thanks more to major increases in equipment and safety with turbocharging will bring features than to bare bodyshell weight. further efficiency improve- Huge increases in engine efficiency have ments, because GDI can been partially diverted into enhanced fea- reduce the excess NOx pro- tures instead of fuel economy. The US’s duction that can be a prob- 1970s weight savings were easy to achieve, lem in turbo engines. mainly by abandoning the separate chassis frame, but the further reductions needed to Hitachi develops fully reach the Kyoto Agreement targets for CO2 electric brakes emissions will be harder work. Either there Hitachi plus affiliated Unisia must be radical powertrain and materials Jecs, Tokiko and Hitachi changes, or customers must be weaned off Cable is developing an the features they now expect. entirely electric braking sys- tem which uses motors to apply braking pressure. It will increase control possibilities and ease assembly through MG Rover to the elimination of hydraulic parts. Delphi is working on a similar system. use superplastic

MEPs renew call for aluminium motorcycle emission limits The European Parliament’s for X80 environment committee MG’s new Ford V8-powered themselves to complex shapes. produce an excellent surface wants binding motorcycle sports coupé, codenamed X80, Production cycle times vary finish. emissions limits for 2006 to developed from the Qvale between 20 and 60 minutes, but The materials supplier claims build on those set for 2003. It Mangusta programme which MG two parts can be made from the to be able to move from receipt believes this will give certain- Rover now owns, will use same tool – itself produced of enquiry to production in just ty to manufacturers, whose superplastic aluminium skin directly from CAD models using eight to 12 weeks. The X80 will products currently emit a dis- panels. five-axis milling. This is a cheaper be unveiled in summer 2002, proportionate amount of pol- Such panels, formed at 450- process than producing a pair of with production starting around lutants compared to their use 500 degC with a single-surface matched dies, and the tools the end of the year at MG tool using air pressure and cavity- suffer less wear and tear during Rover’s Longbridge factory. A relative to other vehicles. forming techniques, lend the forming process. They also roadster version follows in 2003.

4 NEWS FROM AW PUBLICATIONS Ricardo Quarterly Review Winter 2001/2002 Rubber-based revolutions MEPs call for ‘sulphur-free’ fuel under way by 2008 THE European Parliament’s environ- JAPANESE rubber component manufacturer ment committee is seeking to bring the Miyasaka Rubber has developed a new ultra- adoption of so-called sulphur-free gaso- lightweight rubber with a specific gravity of line and diesel fuel (ie no more than 10 0.98, which is 15-20 per cent lighter than parts per million of sulphur) forward existing materials. This rubber has many auto- from 2011 to 2008. motive applications other than in a hot engine- That original date was set as a bal- bay environment, and apart from tyres the ance between the increased refinery new material reportedly can satisfy a quarter emissions of CO2 resulting from sul- of an average car’s rubber needs. phur’s removal and the consequent And Goodyear’s GT3 BioTRED tyre, reductions in vehicle emissions. The launched last summer, has now been move arises from Germany’s incentive approved by BMW for fitment to an economy schemes to introduce sulphur-free fuel version of the 3-series, following Ford’s use of in 2003, and (not an EU it in an economy edition of the outgoing country) in 2004, thus hastening the Fiesta. The BioTRED uses starch extracted pace of change. from maize as a filler material in place of a Meanwhile, as an interim strategy, proportion of the existing silicon and carbon Orbital of Australia and catalyst supplier black. It is turned into micro-droplets and then Johnson Matthey have devised an air- into a biopolymeric material. assisted direct-injection system and an The key advantages of BioTRED are lighter advanced three-way catalyst (instead of weight, which reduces unsprung weight which a lean NOx trap) which is not reliant on in turn improves ride and handling, and signifi- ultra-low sulphur fuel to meet future cantly lower rolling resistance. Fuel consump- These reductions, says Goodyear, equate to emissions limits, such as Euro 4. tion, compared with a regular Goodyear GT2, 17 per cent of the 25 per cent CO2 reduction The EC has announced plans to is cut by five per cent, and CO2 emissions are set by the EU to be reached in 2008. replace 20 per cent of EU consumption reduced by an average 7.5g/km through the Other gains are a halving of noise levels, of gasoline and diesel fuels with alter- lower rolling resistance and a further 0.2g/km wet braking improved by 10 per cent, and a native fuels – biofuels, natural gas, through the greener production process. five per cent reduction in aquaplaning risk. hydrogen and fuel cells – by 2020.

FlexRay and Safe-by-Wire A message from the teams develop databus Chief Executive parameters for drive-by-wire FEW of us can fail to be impressed by the 24 hour GENERAL Motors is the latest Further in the future, x-by- and 5000 mile world speed member of the FlexRay consor- wire could even be used for col- records achieved by tium, which includes Motorola, lision avoidance systems driven Volkswagen's W12 sports Bosch, DaimlerChrysler and by obstruction sensors. One prototype at Nardo, Italy, on BMW. FlexRay is developing an study predicts that up to 40 per October 13-14, 2001. This ultra-high-speed databus to cent of European-made cars achievement clearly estab- handle intricate ‘x-by-wire’ appli- could be completely ‘by-wire’, lishes Volkswagen's technical cations, including steering, brak- including steering, by 2012. credibility in the high per- ing, clutch and gearshift. The A slower but cheaper archi- formance sports car sector. key advantage of an electronic tecture should soon emerge It was particularly gratifying link instead of a mechanical one from the deliberations of anoth- to see the Ricardo logo fea- is that the electronics are net- er consortium, dubbed Safe-by- tured so prominently on the ture article in this issue of worked into the vehicle’s sen- Wire, set up by a group of auto- W12, a reflection of the hard RQ, for which we are grateful sors, so that a driver’s misguid- motive and components compa- work, skill and determination to Volkswagen for providing ed intentions might not be inter- nies to create standardisation of the project team that permission to publish. More preted literally – for example, if for cars’ increasingly complex developed the highly innova- than this we congratulate braking too hard in a slippery systems. The plan is to have a tive Ricardo transmission and Volkswagen on their achieve- bend. Instead, the car might common communications proto- adapted the vehicle for its ment and we are proud to apply individual brakes selec- col for databuses, with obvious installation. This work is have been able to play such tively and steer safely round economies of scale for all con- described in detail in the fea- an active part in it. the bend. cerned.

Winter 2001/2002 Ricardo Quarterly Review NEWS FROM AW PUBLICATIONS 5 Record box

When Volkswagen decided to go for the world 24-hour speed record with a special W12 sports prototype, Ricardo was the natural choice to provide a suitably high-performance transmission. Tony Lewin reports Stefan Sänger Mick Battrick

even thousand kilometres is the kind record in the Guinness Book of World to both McLaren, for their F1 road car, and to of distance most motorists cover in Records would be handy, too. Jaguar, for their XJ220. So we already had a Sfive or six months. Nowadays, it’s easy This is serious territory, demanding aver- track record in building transmissions for on the car and almost as easy on the driver. age speeds significantly higher than in that extreme tests.” However, there are certain people within the other car-breaking classic, the Le Mans 24 But it proved to be more than just an exer- Volkswagen headquarters who hours: only one circuit, Nardo in Italy, would cise in putting together a suitable gearbox: think it’s too easy. allow the 300 km/h-plus lap speeds required. once the transmission had been designed A lot too easy, in fact, and, just to prove As for the car itself, the immense stresses and manufactured, Ricardo also helped its the point, the Volkswagen people decided to involved in running flat-out for such a long W12 project partners, VW Research and the try and cover this mileage in a rather shorter stretch meant that, in addition to the novel Italian body company ItalDesign, with the space of time. It shouldn’t be five, four or six-litre W12 engine that the record bid was installation and conversion of the vehicles. even three months, they reasoned, nor even to showcase, every other component had to Mick Battrick , Manager Vehicle three weeks or three days, but just one day – be to racing standard or higher. And quite Programmes at Ricardo’s Vehicle 24 short, intense hours to drive a distance naturally, given its high-profile success at Le Engineering division, takes up the story: the equivalent of Paris to Moscow and back, Mans with Audi, it was Ricardo who received “Volkswagen delivered a , and and then on to , Zagreb and most of the call from VW’s team manager, Rudolf- we then installed the W12 engine and our the way to Athens. Helmut Strozyk, to develop the transmission five-speed transmission. Not that Volkswagen wanted to do it just for the record-bid car. “One of the first challenges was to actually for the fun of it. The VW officials had a seri- “Certainly, the win with Audi was a big get the new engine and transmission into the ous point to make: that the company intends boost,” says Stefan Sänger, European vehicle,” remembers Battrick. “It required to be a genuine contender in the high-stakes Business Manager at Ricardo’s Driveline and comprehensive chassis modifications market for ultra-high-performance sports Transmission division, “and the customer because the W12 engine, although very cars. Oh, yes — and having Volkswagen’s was aware that we had already supplied short, is much wider compared to the V12 name against the world 24-hour speed high-performance gearboxes in low volumes engine from the Lamborghini platform. The level of structure change was quite consider- able, as we also had to allow for perform- ance exhaust manifolds down either side.” The first car built by Ricardo was a mule – in effect a Lamborghini stripped of its original engine and 4WD drivetrain and fitted with the W12 engine, Ricardo transmission and new powertrain and driveline systems. “That vehicle was then used for initial test- ing and for demonstrations within VW to prove the concept,” says Battrick. “The proj- ect manager within VW then received approval to go for the actual 24-hour event – he then decided he wanted a six-speed transmission, not a five-speed, and we were commissioned to build two more vehicles.

6 W12 PROTOTYPE Ricardo Quarterly Review Winter 2001/2002 One was to be another test vehicle, retaining the Lamborghini body, while the second was to be the actual vehicle used for the 24-hour record attempt, which would be fitted with a special body.” Throughout, Ricardo dealt with more than just the transmission. Mick Battrick again: “Within the W12 team we were responsible for many vehicle installation tasks including all the usual powertrain and driveline sys- tems, gear selector, intake, exhaust, thermal and fuel systems, together with a number of other areas besides.” The programme, which by now had Another important part of the brief, says acquired the codename Violet, began to pick Battrick, was that the transmission system oil circulation, making sure up serious speed in the middle of 2000 when had to be as representative of a production that bearings and seals are all properly lubri- it was decided to go for the record the follow- unit as possible. A racing transmission, just cated. The problem you tend to have is oil ing April. By the early part of 2001, Ricardo like a racing engine, is designed to give starvation as the g-force of the car going was supporting VW with technicians and absolute maximum performance and to last round the track pushes the oil to one side – engineers all across Europe conducting the length of the race but little longer; dura- you have to ensure baffles and oil pickups engine and transmission durability testing on bility is sacrificed for performance. For the are in all the right places.” the six-speed Lamborghini look-alike car at W12 record bid, however, Ricardo needed to A team of three to four Ricardo engineers VW’s Ehra test track. After each test ses- provide both performance and durability. managed the programme to configure, sion, the transmissions were “I think it is fair to say that design, manufacture and assemble the brought back to Ricardo, the transmission we have transmissions. A further two to three helped stripped down, inspected and developed for the W12 would with the conversion and development work then rebuilt. be suitable for a roadgoing on the vehicles. In total, Ricardo made vehicle,” observes Battrick, In terms of man-hours, however, it was three complete six-speed “though the stresses are not much more intense than those figures sug- units in addition to the first exactly the same as in a road gest, especially as the deadlines imposed by demonstrator transmission, car. We’ve tested this transmis- the testing schedules were rigid and very plus two sets of internal sion in fifth and sixth gear con- real. “You can imagine that there were a lot spare parts. The idea was to tinually, whereas in a road car of late nights being worked in order to get rebuild the transmissions for you would be up and down the vehicle ready on time to support these the actual record event, because the only through the gears more frequently.” tests,” says Battrick. “It was an excellent components that would wear would be the “For this type of testing the transmission is effort by all the guys in the team.” internal ones. subject to a unique duty cycle, so you need In normal circumstances Ricardo would In the event, of course, the actual record to over-engineer those areas of the transmis- have done its own durability testing, but the drive on 13 and 14 October ran like clock- sion that are subject to extreme loads,” says compressed schedules and the fact that VW work: the only headaches were some body- Sänger. “But obviously for a pure road ver- had run two complete 24-hour tests at Ehra work damage caused by debris on the track, sion you would have to revisit all the ratios provided more than enough confidence in and a minor flurry surrounding a damaged and ensure they were all suitable.” the integrity of the transmission. “The main alternator pulley. But while a solid 24 hours Normal practice is for race cars to have issue for us was the durability of the fifth and at a blistering average of 296km/h can never straight-cut gears for opti- sixth gears,” remembers be labelled undramatic, the session was cer- mised strength, and for road Battrick. “The design principles tainly satisfyingly drama-free as far as the cars to have helical gears for are very similar to the XJ220, W12’s mechanical elements were con- reduced noise. “That still and we had previous experi- cerned. In fact confidence was so high that a applies,” says Battrick, “and ence of using that transmis- decision was made to continue running past on this occasion we went for sion in other 24-hour the 24 hours in order to break the 5000 miles a road car transmission, endurance events. Therefore world record. complete with triple synchro- we were confident that there Naturally, the Ricardo transmission system nisers for each gear.” were not going to be any was on the list of components which never This contrasts with the major issues – that’s not to missed a beat. But how, precisely, does a transmission developed by say that we didn’t have a cou- leading engineering provider face the daunt- Ricardo for Audi’s Le Mans winners: this had ple of small problems, because we did.” ing task of developing a system which will dog-clutches instead of synchronisers, a Quick, novel solutions soon put paid to those withstand those enormous loads, those tem- system not suitable for road use. early teething troubles, and the transmission peratures and those g-forces for all that For the Nardo record bid Ricardo designed has performed faultlessly ever since. time? After all, failure – whether after half an wholly new internals to fit inside an existing “The thing to remember,” says Sänger, “is hour or 23 and a half hours – is simply not main casing design. “Clearly, we had to be that in the normal world you would have at an option. able to sustain a racing type start at each pit least two years to come up with a production Stefan Sänger: “The process normally stop and a quick shift up through the gears,” design. In this instance we had just a few begins with a packaging requirement. The says Battrick, “however once you’re at maxi- months and there was a lot of pressure to do customer tells us what the space is and what mum speed and in sixth gear the loadings the job – but the W12 project team got it the engine is, and then asks us whether we are comparatively small. The areas you then done.” have a suitable gearbox.” have issues with are high temperatures and Enough said?

Winter 2001/2002 Ricardo Quarterly Review W12 PROTOTYPE 7 Welcome to the 2004 mobile office. Telematics Who’s wired for can do anything from emails and navigation to the brave new shopping, downloading movies and even maintaining contact world? between carmaker and customer. It is a market otorola is expecting a wide range of within a couple of years of the start. cars to come off assembly lines in Akumiitti Telematics – a Finnish start-up that could be worth up to M2004 which are wired for the inter- that is part of the Nokia phenomenon – is net. It’s at that point that forecasters will start less bullish short-term and more bullish long- $60bn in Europe alone by to assess what the appetite for on-board term. It sees $60bn in Europe alone in 2010 2010 – so could this be the communication is likely to be. But it’s at this – inclusive of both the cost of the infrastruc- point that the marketing people have to tell ture and the service sales. auto industry’s big future the engineers what they think their cus- Frost and Sullivan, the research organisa- profit opportunity? Rob tomers will want. The American electronics tion, meanwhile puts itself firmly in the bear- giant thinks that the entire global car telem- ish camp with forecasts that put the value of Golding reports atics industry will be worth around $25bn the 2007 US and European telematics indus-

8 TELEMATICS Ricardo Quarterly Review Winter 2001/2002 try at around $7billion-$8billion each. The Finns think there will be two principal sources of demand in the first instance. One Likely internet usage on the move is also a Satellite networks provide the only is customer retention. The other is improved bit of a debating point. Will your passengers reliable link with a moving vehicle productivity. One is consumer, the other is want to surf the web for on-line shopping over a wide area commercial. In the first case car makers will sites? Will the travelling company executive incur cost to be able to stay in touch with the want to check out news on competitors purchaser of their vehicle and to buy his loy- before filing a sales forecast for the board alty by offering subsidised services. meeting from his car? A slow start In the second case, operators will be try- Mercedes-Benz says not, and has been GM’s OnStar is the innovator of telematics ing to measure and improve driver productivi- dismissive of initiatives from German rivals for retail applications. Even though it has ty, and improve vehicle and routing efficiency. to sell surfing tools to motorists. Jürgen been going for five years, it has only just The makers of the commercial vehicles are Hubbert, a brand director at Mercedes, was reached a million subscribers in the US. The also looking for feedback – R&D fieldwork to quoted in a German business magazine as company is saying little about renewals, but update constantly knowledge of operating saying that other car makers did not listen to several informed guesses suggest that only performance to improve the product. their customers when they were taking tech- about one in four subscribers renew for a Financial benefit will be measurable, nology decisions. second year. enabling people to invest in the tracking ter- Customers don’t want to search for infor- However slow the US has been, Europe minals which make use of satellites and mation or shop on line while they are in a has been even slower. One expert comfort- which still cost about $1000 each. Only car, he says, but they do want simple infor- able with the idea that this will change is Jan satellite networks can provide a reasonably mation on roads and hotels and petrol sta- Helleker, CEO of WirelessCar of – a reliable link with a moving vehicle over a tions. BMW in the new 7-Series has decided company which started life within the com- wide area. to limit the internet range through a BMW mercial vehicle division of Volvo but now portal, but has determined that stock prices functions as an independent organisation. How will telematics be used? are a vital accessory for its clientele. One of Hellaker is forecasting that all cars will have One of the major short-range commercial the most potent symbols of the change of the capability for safety-related telematics by vehicle operators in Europe, Minorplanet, the car from driving machine to mobile office 2007 in Europe – two years earlier than in which looks after around 42,000 trucks, has is the replacement in the new 7-Series of the the US. Helleker likens the take-up to that of established that traffic and routing informa- gear shift between the front seats with a con- air-bags. What is envisaged is a black box tion is not the high priority service that was troller that manages 700 functions through a that phones the emergency services when first imagined. Users tend to research the dashboard display. The gear controller has the air-bags are triggered – bringing location way they are going to go then stick to it. moved to the steering column. sensors into play.

Winter 2001/2002 Ricardo Quarterly Review TELEMATICS 9 BMW’s new 7-series has its 700-function iDrive control where the gear selector WirelessCar wants two things to happen to no-one wants to participate until it works. would normally be. Mobile internet get the business underway. It wants to be And it will not work until lots of people are access is about to be rolled out sure that the technology is rugged; it’s no involved (they want at least 400 cars partici- use offering safety and security that does not pating just for Munich). The other problem is work in a rainstorm in a valley by the radio that much other traffic information arrives mast. Alert centres will have to be staffed so free of charge. Before you can charge peo- that all calls get attention. Helleker also ple for using a new system, you have to wants to see packet-switching. Although he define and market its superiority. thinks that wireless systems can handle telematic receivers and transmitters, he Proximity to the jeans shop Most planners wants to be able to charge by the transaction The French start-up company Webraska has rather than on a monthly rental basis. trial systems running with SFR and Peugeot currently believe that Helleker thinks that carmakers can be per- in France. A Parisian can buy a service suaded that they can afford to install telem- which stores his usual route to work, advises the cost of the atics on the cars without any guaranteed him on the morning that there is bad conges- income from selling services. Recalls are tion and suggests an alternative. The compa- bandwidth required to expensive, he argues. If manufacturers can ny is trying to integrate internet, wireless and reach into every car remotely and adjust the GPRS into a business that offers proximity do everything is far software, they save a lot of time and money services, so that your car can be told where on recalls. to park to get to the jeans shop that has your greater than the A new Munich company still thinks that style in your size in stock. people want real-time traffic information as The further refinement that Webraska average consumer is the highest priority. Definiens starts from the envisages is being able to alert your car if it argument that Trafficmaster-type systems passes a store which has in stock something prepared to pay only work through sensors on main roads. that you said you wanted. You can’t knock That is hardly going to help with off-highway the ambition… alternative routes. Definiens envisages a Development funding is coming from both peer group system with each car working as the car maker and the phone service both a user and an information beacon. The provider. Both believe that there is affinity data arising is processed to assess position, value in being able to provide this sort of direction and speed to give information on service. In due course it is thought that the travel time on a particular alternative route. hotels and flower shops, the restaurants and The problem with this is the usual one – the cinemas will all be paying to have their

10 TELEMATICS Ricardo Quarterly Review Winter 2001/2002 names come up on the proximity search rather than the names of their rivals. Much of the emphasis of the benefits of the wired car have been given over to what we can do for the kids to keep them happy on long journeys. The rear seat entertain- ment package – now becoming widely avail- able as a retrofit – is the way ahead. The question is whether in the future it will be a dumb terminal for games, TV and video or whether it will be on-line for interaction, and for down-loading films, music and e-mail. Audi is busy seeing how many aerials it can build into the back windows of its cars,

GM’s OnStar (above) is the only major telematics application so far. Its base of over one million customers is served by call centres like this one in the US (left)

The mobile multi-media mogul

BOB SCHUMACHER knows market in telematics and Delphi ing the degradation inherent in new films through the ether. that he shouldn’t do it; and he has to perform to keep it there. the signal seeking a moving All this is changing the busi- knows better than most that “Vehicles are awash with receiver by using more aerials in ness model for the car company. there is another way. But it does- Palms and cell phones,” he says. car window glass. That is begin- Suddenly there are service n’t stop him. In the tone of a “Customers are coming to rely ning to deal with the signal packages with recurrent revenue hopeless addict he admits: on being able to get anything, bounce off buildings. streams. Having missed fuel “When I get in the car for a long anywhere any time and with a Better wireless reception is supply, having lost tyre and journey I have three cell phones, cell-phone, a Palm and WAP needed for the next stage of exhaust supply, and being close a Palm and a pager.” they can.” navigation. Storing source mate- to losing vehicle maintenance, Schumacher knows about The irony is that the busy peo- rial on-board is dated. the OEMs would like to find a long commutes in the way that ple who need these things Navigation is ready to go off- way of securing the revenues on only Americans do. From home haven’t got time to sort them- board so that constantly up- in-car entertainment, navigation to his most distant office is five selves out and get a decent sys- dated maps can be down-loaded and productivity systems. and a half hours and he knows tem running. The growing mar- to the car with turn-by-turn voice “The general public – by which that he has to be productive dur- ket therefore is for docking sys- guidance on routes. I mean the families – will want ing that time. tems on-board for palm-top com- Today’s $100 CD-ROM navi- entertainment. That is MP3 play- This man is general director of puters and cell phones with a gation package is now unaccept- back, a hard disk, in-car games Delphi’s Mobile Multi-Media divi- voice engine for accessing them. ably out of date in six months. and DVD movies. These are all sion, which means that he is Schumacher bemoans the Bandwidth is also required by rolling with high prices, but global on-board gizmo supremo. slow speed of today’s cell the audio addicts who want to be they’re falling fast. Delphi is well ahead of the game phones – knowing what he can able to subscribe to satellite “The road warrior, the mobile in terms of volume, and the do when it improves. “The next broadcasts with near-CD quality businessman, needs productivi- growth of its MMM business is generation of cell phones – 2.5G sound and 100 channels for $10 ty. He must have e-mail and he running at an extraordinary 35 with both GSM and GPRS – will a month. DVD playbacks are may want to trade from the car.” per cent a year. help a lot.” about to be installed as original There will be a market for a Its former parent company, He wants bandwidth and less equipment in US minivans, and plug and play portable cell GM – still its largest customer – degradation of signal as well as the next step there is for phone work-station, thinks plans to continue to lead the speed. OE systems are improv- motorists to get fresh supplies of Schumacher.

Winter 2001/2002 Ricardo Quarterly Review TELEMATICS 11 Visteon’s rear-seat entertainment and has come up with 12 . Four of these are volume of on-board data transmission is get- package points the way ahead – but such systems will need online to pick up TV signals which allow everyone ting much fatter and unable to cope. Audi connectivity for true interactivity to be tuned to different stations on their con- thinks that if it is to handle the vehicle oper- sole and seat-back screens. Four other aeri- ating systems safely and reliably and still als are for the entire FM spectrum, one is for have the capacity to download a DVD on the non-FM radio, one for the radio-beamed cen- move, then a completely new system is tral locking, one for GPRS and one for dual going to be needed. band mobile communication. There are cost implications, too. Most Audi will also offer an adaptation of the planners currently believe that the cost of navigation system which will tell the car’s log the bandwidth required to do everything is where it has been as well as where it needs far greater than the average consumer is to go. From that, the driver gets a download prepared to pay. Motorola believes that multi- for use in compiling his mileage claim or tax media will be the last of four stages of return. All this is arriving alongside the drive- telematics to develop. Dialling up for an in- by-wire features of the modern car, and the flight movie, therefore, is a few years down the track.

Voice activation The talking car is with us for the second time around. Twenty years ago it arrived as a technology looking for an application, replac- ing warning lights just because it could. After a few short months of a hectoring voice telling you that the door was not shut proper- ly or that you had forgotten to fit the seat belt, despairing owners were removing fuses and disabling systems all over the world. Now the voice is back, but this time it is going to be yours more often than that of a synthesised automaton. SpeechWorks International is one of the bigger players. It already has systems for United Airlines where it can automatically produce speech responses to speech questions about flights. It is one of the suppliers to the voice recognition processes used by GM’s On-Star. SpeechWorks supplies the speech-to-text

12 TELEMATICS Ricardo Quarterly Review Winter 2001/2002 applications while Delphi Automotive ductive in his information handling while at means that he has to tell the machine which Systems provides the noise filtering technol- the wheel, more must be done to get clean songs he wants. ogy, and Nuance Communication builds the translation of text into speech and back From there it is a small step to select a file voice recognition processing. In August, again. Industry experts say that the technol- from your lap-top by naming it. The word file Delphi’s rival Visteon also signed an alliance ogy is good for recognition about 95 per cent will then be read to you through the text-to- with SpeechWorks – a company which is fast of the time – assuming the speaker is stan- voice interface. You make the corrections, becoming a market authority. dard American with a mild accent. Most then select an e-mail address by voice and Ford has done some pioneering work with applications work with a vocabulary of just a send the revised document through the Jaguar on voice control of navigation, tem- few hundred words. Some of the developers always-on internet connection. perature control and phone dialling. At the believe that systems should be sold that All that really remains to be done, as these end of August Visteon showed its intent to need “training” by the user, but SpeechWorks business cars circulate endlessly on the ring improve its voice activation business by cre- believes that generic systems will be adopt- road with their drivers rewriting memos, is to ating Infinitive Speech Systems. This will ed widely by the 2006 model year and that organise a coffee supplier. The man who can extend this reasonably simple trick to on- by then 80 per cent of cars will have at least arrange for you to download a double- board computers, palm devices and acces- some standard functions controlled by voice. strength cappuccino with vanilla flavour and sories and Bluetooth wireless interfaces. The Visteon director of voice technology, chocolate top has got himself a business. Brian Radloff, who runs this new business, Mike Bryars, reveals that he has an MP3 says that the new organisational structure player that he wants to fit to cars which is allows Visteon to accelerate its involvement capable of holding 4,000 music tracks. You Rob Golding is an auto industry analyst, and to spread faster across a fuller range. could not ask a driver to scroll through that and a financial correspondent for But if the driver is to become more pro- lot while keeping on eye in the road, which Automotive World titles

The Ricardo View

ack in the early 1970s, mobile communications tech- effort to survive. B business and technology nology are as low as six In this business environ- leaders were trying to predict months. The probability of get- ment, neither the OEMs the winner of the battle of the ting the wrong technology or nor the phone companies videos. Would it be Betamax, solution is also extremely high. are prepared to gamble VC2000, or VHS? Add in video So where does that leave without a killer application discs, DVD, pay-per-view satel- us? Who would invest such sig- which guarantees lite TV and cable TV, then nificant amounts at such high increased revenues and shorten the technology life risk, and why? sales to repay the colos- cycles by a factor of 100, and The OEMs know there is a sal investments required. you get a feel for the challenge potential benefit in telematics, So what does the of predicting the winners and but so far have not found the future look like? One losers in automotive telematics. compelling customer benefit thing is for sure, the worlds of vehicles. This will enable So let’s at least define what which justifies the gamble. The communications and cars will your phone to communicate to we do know. suppliers, who own the critical collide, and telematics will hap- you via the embedded man- The cost of embedded communications technology, pen. The questions are how, machine interface in your car, telematics hardware which must take their core resources and when ? whether by voice, text or what- meets OEM legislative, envi- away from new phone platform The killer applications are all ever. ronmental and reliability developments and move them out there, be they real time traf- The speed of these changes requirements is extremely high, on to difficult automotive pro- fic information with dynamic will be swift, because the as is the cost of developing grams for which the sales pale route guidance, paying at a gas phone manufacturers need to and launching such technology into insignificance compared to station without having to queue differentiate their products to both for the supplier and the their core phone business. or get out of your car, or stay- survive and the service OEM. The cost of the infra- Less than 18 months ago ing in touch with your football providers need to recover their structure both in terms of off- the future looked rosy for the team’s progress live when you investments in 3G technolo- board services and the hard- phone companies. They were are on the other side of the gies. If you want to see the ware to provide them is even happy to invest in automotive world. Telematics is a technolo- future, then you are probably higher. Witness the recent 3G telematics as another potential gy waiting for just such an better off reading magazines auctions and their impact. route to market for their tech- application. on the next big thing in phones The cost of misjudging the nology, and they had the The investment to provide rather than cars for the fore- market, the technology, or the money to do it. Since that time these functions will happen first seeable future. solution is extraordinarily high. the global communications on the mobile phones you The life cycle to specify, market has in relative terms carry in your pocket. They will design, develop, and launch collapsed, as have the phone then migrate into the car via OEM hardware is around 24 companies’ stocks, and these aftermarket accessories, and months, and the service life is companies are now retrenching finally the OEMs will embed Don Newton, Director, 10-15 years. The life cycles of into their core business in an the plug and interface into the Control & Electronics

Winter 2001/2002 Ricardo Quarterly Review TELEMATICS 13 Czech Mates

With economic opportunities blossoming in Eastern Europe, Ricardo decided to set up an engineering centre in Prague. It found the Czech Republic to be a country full of engineering talent, but the old bureaucracy isn’t quite dead yet. Anthony Lewis met the company’s Prague pioneers

he company’s foothold in Eastern another ironic factor that they discovered to Europe’s most fashionable capital city their delight. Awareness of Ricardo in the Tis seen as vital. Mercedes was the first Czech Republic was much higher than in the explains: “It is reasonably difficult in the UK to open an office in Prague, then Ricardo UK, because of the country’s very strong to recruit good graduates, particularly with opened its design and analysis base March engineering tradition. two or three years’ experience in the indus- last year and now Porsche is setting up an try. When we got out here we found that the office. All the signs show that Low costs, high flexibility nature of the education in the universities is others will follow. Talk to the But let’s start with the logic very different – the guys come out with a team in the new Ricardo behind an Eastern European good understanding of engineering drawing office – tasteful corporate office. In the words of Paul at a practical level, unlike UK graduates Ricardo blue much in evidence McNamara: “Running a busi- unless they have been through very spe- – and you soon begin to sense ness like ours, you have to have cialised courses.” the buzz. a high level of utilisation to keep He describes graduates “turning up at the However, Paul McNamara, the cost base sensible. In a office for interviews with detailed drawings of director of powertrain design, lower cost economy, you can components like crankcases, which you had not alighted on Prague without first look- have a lower level of utilisation which wouldn’t get in the UK.” ing at a range of other options. Poland and increases flexibility – your ability to respond Although the decision to have an Eastern also entered the equation once the upwards or downwards when customers say European office was taken in March 1999, decision to establish an eastern European ‘can you do this rush job in three weeks?’.” the green light for Prague wasn’t given until office was taken in March 1999. But the fig- Cost and flexibility are the two main driv- October that year. According to Nigel ures stacked up in favour of the Czech ers. “We can quote for work matching the Mitchell, Ricardo’s business manager for Republic’s capital. price of Indian-based companies, yet we are special projects, who masterminded the Not that it’s just about figures. There are in the heart of Europe and only 90 minutes’ office’s establishment, one key deciding fac- hidden benefits too, some of which are flying time from London.” tor was the collapse of light truck maker already beginning to manifest themselves, A less tangible driver is recruitment, as Daewoo Avia. others which will materialise sooner rather McNamara “We had worked with Avia [before Daewoo than later. There was also bought it] since 1969 and knew key staff members well,” says Mitchell. These provid- ed instant access to contacts and a team of suitable engineers. Mitchell took a creative approach to getting things done so the office could be up and running within six months – and it opened on schedule in March 2000. “The main lesson taken from setting up the Prague operation was the importance of having at least one person in the target country for co-ordination, translation and negotiation,” reasons Mitchell. “This is a very key point.” Ricardo fortunately had Eduard Luti˘san, a former Avia engineer who Mitchell describes as “a trustworthy operator who could be left alone to get the job done, han- dling large amounts of cash, willing to bar- gain on every item and put pressure on potential suppliers – including the landlord and solicitors”.

14 PRAGUE OFFICE Ricardo Quarterly Review Winter 2001/2002 Bringing the West to the Czech Republic

Paul McNamara

Expansion plans Initial recruitment was completed by word of Toma˘s Rabík Martin Krátk´y mouth through Luti˘san, who is office manag- er of the Prague operation. “The Czech oma˘s Rabík was so for work with Skoda, motorcycles and off-high- industry is heavily networked, everyone T keen to improve his Mercedes-Benz or way vehicles. seems to know everyone,” says McNamara. English that he left his job Ricardo. He chose Ricardo But even more he feels But he admits that Ricardo will have to move with Czech engineering “because of its long and that his homeland is an on from this as the office grows. McNamara company Mal´y, where he good tradition of engineer- ideal place to bridge the is optimistic enough about the future to lease was working on race and ing.” Rabík spent two gap between East and the floor above the existing building, initially rally cars, to become an au months working on a West. By being with adding up to 15 engineers to the staff, and pair in Scotland for five Motorsport project, one Ricardo in Prague, “I can the intention is to have 50 or more people months. month of which he worked be on the west side of that working here. It was, admits this 27- on site at the Ricardo bridge,” he says. Another Prague asset was procurement. year-old, “a bit crazy” after Midlands Technical Both are graduates of “When we first came over in 1999,” three years as an engi- Centre. McNamara recalls, “we did a tour of all the neer. But it was also a For Martin Krátk´y, 30, the Czech Technical foundries and machining companies we good career move. Rabík working with Ricardo University in Prague, and could. There is a very strong capability here is now one of the newest means working for a com- Krátk´y speaks Russian for prototype components. Outside Skoda recruits to Ricardo’s pany with sound financial and German. Along with most firms weren’t in mass manufacturing, Prague office. backing, and moving into the rest of his colleagues, the numbers are quite small and a lot of When Toma˘s Rabík more mainstream automo- they take twice-weekly Ricardo’s business makes up to 500 proto- returned from Scotland, he tive engineering after a English lessons organised types in the early stages of a project. There had the choice of applying career spent working on by Ricardo. are a number of companies over here who are very flexible and able to produce high quality components. We wanted that to be part of the office’s focus.” industry, but nothing happened to it during The first instinct of McNamara and the communist years. So when it emerged Mitchell was to launch an office on a univer- from that in the late 1980s, you had a gener- sity campus (as Porsche has subsequently ation of engineers who are in the communist done). “When we investigated mindset and find it difficult to that, the lack of funding going adapt to the demands of a free into universities over the last 20 market culture.” years meant that setting up on campus probably wasn’t an Where’s my colleague? option,” says McNamara. Even Having a Ricardo stalwart in so this could almost be a cam- charge ensured seamless links pus site – the average age of with Shoreham. Prague and the staff is about 27. Martin Hill, Shoreham are managed as one the ex-pat boss who has been with Ricardo office, with McNamara the overall head. The since August 1993, is an “old boy” at 31. real battle was over non co-location – not But, as McNamara explains, recruiting having people working next to each other. older engineers proved surprisingly difficult. “But we are beginning to convince people “The Czechs had a very strong automotive it works – you don’t have to be physically

Winter 2001/2002 Ricardo Quarterly Review PRAGUE OFFICE 15 next to each other. If you are a designer sit- ting in Shoreham or one in Prague, you are equals. We have a team of 80, it just hap- pens that ten of them are in Prague. We knew culturally, as an organisation, that we would have to fight a battle over non co-loca- tion. It’s a general issue for most Western businesses,” McNamara argues. He admits that this is a particular hobby horse of his, and he derives satisfaction from the fact that on one current project for a major car company, the Prague team picked up aspects that were missed in Shoreham. “It’s having that fresh set of eyes that is so crucial, because they have a perspective outside the central project team. It’s not unique to being here, but it is unique to having a team outside the central pool. It has worked well.” McNamara’s philosophy is that as long as engineers are not in the same room, they shouldn’t know whether the colleague they’re working with or talking to is next door or in Prague. That was the structural mission for the information technology team. The next step forward for the Prague office is selling Prague-based projects. expects to win as the result of the Prague ket catches up with the rest of Europe in “From an engineering point of view that’s option. That year’s rent on the floor above terms of prices, you could still compete here where we are trying to go. We have one already looks like a shrewd investment. on ability alone. Design is based on past major car maker sold on the idea that one of experience with a bit of flair and intuition, so their projects with us will be based out of More languages, new cultures you do get different ideas from here.” Prague. Purchasing like it because they get it While the benefit of cost is easy to prove, it’s There is a company just a short tram ride at lower cost. harder – and too early – to pin away whose test facilities “We have a potential project with a down less tangible benefits. McNamara describes politely as Russian customer – they are not worried Having a perspective from out- being “in need of investment “, about whether we base it in the UK, the USA side the core team is one, and but he believes it has potential or Prague. But in order to quote for the proj- another is languages. The for development. While the ect at a rate that makes sense to the office’s Russian, German and majority of design and analysis Russians, we would do it out of Prague.” French speakers are already costs are for manpower, McNamara hints at other contracts that he generating benefits when deal- McNamara points out that it ing with Ricardo clients. costs as much to install test And just as car designers equipment into a place like seek inspiration from studios in Prague as it does anywhere Los Angeles, Barcelona and else. This relegates testing to Tokyo, so Ricardo finds that the Czechs will the last aspect of Ricardo’s work to be con- come up with alternative solutions for engi- sidered for installation. neering problems. “They’ve been dealing with different vehicles, different engines and Software expansion so have different experiences,” says Martin But Prague will be expanded as a software Hill. “You see that with the designs they development centre, says Dr Richard Johns, come up with here.” president of Ricardo Software. He wants to Hill also praises the quality of the engi- harness what he sees as the Czech neers, which he sees as a huge bonus. Republic’s highly skilled and well-trained “They are on a par with any in the UK aca- workforce, and reinforces McNamara’s view demically, and probably slightly ahead in that rates are much less than in the UK or terms of practicality. Even if the Czech mar- the US.

16 PRAGUE OFFICE Ricardo Quarterly Review Winter 2001/2002 ‘Darling, there’s something I need to tell you…’ his was the sort of mission that would By an accident of history, Sandra, 30, T test any marriage, but certainly not now lives and works in the same quarter of “Mission Impossible”. When Martin Hill was Prague that her parents Hamilton and offered the chance to head up the Prague Hanna Brown stayed in while touring the office, he and Sandra had been married for world as professional ice skaters. Her just six months. They had met a few years Viennese-born mother, formerly known as ago while both working for Ricardo in Hanna Eigel, was twice European Shoreham – Sandra as a departmental sec- Champion and participated in the 1956 retary, Martin as an engineer. Olympics. Hamilton also became a world- After deciding this was an opportunity not famous skater. to be missed, they have been in Prague Martin had just three weeks to equip since spring 2000 – Martin as lead designer the office but, because the company had- and Sandra as office administrator. Looking n’t been officially established, bureaucra- ahead, they have just decided to take up the cy struck and he couldn’t take delivery of option of extending their two-year contract many of the things he needed because by a year to March 2003. he didn’t have a much-needed company Once the initial panic of setting up the stamp. Luckily, Tesco had what was office was over, the good points far out- then its largest superstore in Europe on Martin Hill weighed the bad. Sandra speaks German, the outskirts of Prague. “We would which has helped in some situations. Until come away with three trolleys loaded English took over, German was the Czech with stationery and office equipment,” driving licences, Republic’s second language. recalls Martin with a smile. they played safe and applied for one. The Hills live in an apartment just a It is the sort of episode that throws doubt ten-second stroll along the corridor on the Czech Republic’s ambition to join the from the office – so close that the EU in 2005. Petr Greger, executive director cordless office phone still works in the of the Euro-Czech Forum, admits that it flat. They might – literally – live on top reveals why “the Czech Republic’s adminis- of the job, but the large expatriate trative capacity has to be fundamentally community gives them both plenty of strengthened” if it is to fulfil the EU acces- outside interests. Invitations to British sion criteria. Ambassador receptions are an occa- But there are more than enough compen- sional treat, and they have a much sations. The great Czech tradition is to better lifestyle for the money than they escape at the weekend to a ‘chalupa’ – a would in England. cottage retreat in the countryside or moun- Bureaucracy, though, can be a tains – which both Martin and Sandra plan headache. “It’s sometimes necessary to do more often. They are also learning to make arrangements in person Czech, which helps since customer service rather than by post,” says Sandra, is sometimes poor. “such as spending nearly all day Martin also plays football for a team of queuing for driving licences.” Martin ex-pats. They lost a game 11-3 last season and Sandra have no need of a car – to a small village side, but then that village much to Martin’s surprise he doesn’t team did include two former internationals, even miss driving – but when the one of which was Tomá˘s Skurav´y, joint top Czech government decreed that all goal scorer in World Cup 1990. Sandra Hill residents must have Czech-issued No gain without pain.

“India has a very skilled and well trained – we get asked for that are way above the workforce,” he says, “and is also cost effec- capacity capability that we have at Chicago tive. But the cost difference between India and Shoreham.” and Prague is not that great, and Prague is This software development capability is easier to manage – it’s a relatively short dis- being put into the Prague office at the end of tance away. Despite all the modern commu- this year. Dr Johns has been impressed by nications we have, there’s nothing like face- the highly-qualified candidates. “For scientific to-face contact. It’s so important. work you have to be able to read and write “Prague gives us the chance to establish English. Those we are interviewing have real software capabilities with a view to doing BSc, MSc or PhD qualifications, and their the millions of things – all the extra features spoken English is also good.”

Winter 2001/2002 Ricardo Quarterly Review PRAGUE OFFICE 17 “We don’t have a size problem – on the contrary, in fact”

PSA Peugeot Citroën is the fastest-growing company in a lot, but we have increased our market share there. We have reduced our capacity the auto industry today, increasing its sales by over but we are still working there and still pro- ducing cars in Argentina. In the situa- 11 per cent compared with last year. CEO Jean-Martin tion is different: the market is growing – plus Folz talks to Tony Lewin about the group’s once- 20 per cent during the first eight months of this year. Last year we were the largest controversial strategy of independent ownership but importer on the Brazilian market; today we are a smaller car manufacturer, but we intend selective co-operation with other carmakers such as to increase. We successfully launched the Ford, Renault and Toyota Peugeot 206 and the Citroën Xsara Picasso in the first half of this year.

Do you need a broader range than that for You have just won the Automotive World try. At that time we said we didn’t believe it South America, the C3 for instance? Leadership award. What do you think this was a good solution. You remember all those We will introduce more cars in South says about the PSA group? taunts about Gallic pride and splendid isola- America but we’re not making any We’re very pleased that our strategy has tion and so on. Well, today, I’m not saying announcements today. now been recognised. As you can under- that the others were wrong – obviously not – stand, we’ve sometimes felt a bit alone – we but our route has also proved itself a feasible But will they always be European designs have certainly been used to feeling strong route. and not dedicated designs for South criticism about what we are trying to do. America? We’re not saying that we are right, but we It seems to have shown up in the results No – we selected South America as one of have always wanted to demonstrate that very well. our target areas precisely because the type there are many different possibilities – and We are very satisfied with what we are doing of cars you see in the streets of Buenos that what in France we call pensée unique is in Europe: in a market which is declining by Aires or Sao Paulo are just like European not always the best way of doing business. 1.4 per cent during the first eight months of cars. So we can use our present product this year alone, we did plus 7.9 per cent – so offer to develop our sales there. Would pensée unique be the way your we did increase our market share very signif- predecessor M. Calvet used to run the icantly, and we consolidated our position of Is the next target? business? second largest car manufacturer in Europe. We are already there, but it is a growth area. No, pensée unique was the generally accept- Today we represent around nine per cent of ed opinion of around 1998/99 that showed What about South America? the passenger car market in China. We have itself around the time of the Frankfurt South America is obviously a difficult country lost a few tenths of a percent of market Autoshow, where mergers and acquisitions to be in today – but this does not change our share this year because we still had just one were the alpha and omega of the auto indus- strategy. Argentina is going downwards quite model, but we are introducing the Xsara

18 JEAN-MARTIN FOLZ Ricardo Quarterly Review Winter 2001/2002 ‘You remember all those taunts about Gallic pride and splendid isolation and so on… Well, today, I’m not saying that the others were wrong – obviously not – but our route has also proved itself a feasible route’

Picasso which will be the first small minivan Your policy of co-operation with other very well positioned – after all, we are by far on the Chinese market. It is a challenge, but producers is very successful, but you are the largest producers of electric cars world- we are quite optimistic that we will get a not present in certain areas of the market wide. We have already sold 7000 electric good reaction from the Chinese buyers. We such as 4 x 4. Are you maybe looking to cars – real cars, not golf carts – and we feel definitely intend to continue to develop the another one or two co-operation pro- we’ve got really good knowledge about stor- Chinese market with our partner Dong Feng. grammes to fill in the gaps? ing and monitoring of high-power electricity We are favourable in principle to co-opera- on board cars, which will be very useful for Where else do you see large growth for tion. So every time we have a project in fuel cells. the Group? which volumes for engines, for gearboxes, In Central Europe, it is a very important area for platforms are important we will discuss VW’s Ferdinand Piëch has just for us. We managed to increase our market with possible partners and hopefully find a announced that the new Polo will cost share from eight to 9.4 per cent from the solution like the one we found with Ford or, between five and nine per cent less than beginning of last year to the beginning this recently, with Toyota. Concerning 4x4s, it is a old model. Do you see this as proof that year in spite of the sharp decline of the segment of the European market but it is not two-million unit platforms are bringing Polish market. I would also like to mention so large and it is no longer growing. There is economies of scale that will force down Iran where we have two strong partnerships, a large offer in this market – so each year prices? How do you deal with your sup- Peugeot with Iran Khodro and Citroën with even the best car in this market does [only] pliers in order to get lower prices? Sipar. We are now producing the 206 and of 35,000 to 40,000 cars maximum. This is We have a very strong platform policy within course still the 405, and our partners Sipar quite a limited number if you want to develop the PSA group, which we believe is one of have started to produce the Xantia in Iran. a car by yourself. So we do not intend to the keys to effectively reducing prices. It’s develop a 4x4 in the next few years, but if not a question of the number of cars – it’s a So will the production line will be moved we find a possibility to do one with a co- question of the number of platforms. Our from Rennes to there completely? It is operation we will do it. strategy is to have 85 per cent of our cars CKD now, is it not? built on three platforms before 2004. One car Today it is CKD but we intend to integrate But is it not quite a high margin market? – the 206 – will be around 800,000 units this [raise local content] quite a lot and the target I don’t know. Ask people who are selling in it. year, and we have introduced our three new is to largely integrate those cars in Iran. platforms this year. So we feel pretty sure There is a very strong industrial network in You have embarked on technical collabo- that through our platform policy and through Iran with very effective suppliers. In China ration on advanced diesels with Ford and co-operations with other manufacturers – like we have managed very high local content small-car engineering with Toyota. What the ones we have with Ford and Renault – rates. The Foukon – the car we are selling about very advanced engineering – like we can achieve sufficient volumes to be at today – already has local content rates of fuel cells? Would you be looking for part- least half-competitive, and probably more over 85 per cent. ners in that area? competitive than most of our competitors. We presented full details of our fuel cell What about India? strategy last May and introduced some of Do those volumes help you get a better Tata announced at the beginning of this year the fuel-cell projects we had. We do not feel price with suppliers? that it would like to develop a car on a PSA that actual fuel cell powered cars will play a Yes, obviously they do. We are a growing platform. So we worked together and unfor- significant role in the market before 2010 or company – the fastest-growing company in tunately concluded last July that in view of later. Therefore we do not intend to bring a the auto industry today. We intend to remain the size of the market and the present pric- full fuel cell-powered car to the market in the like that, and today suppliers – such as those ing on the market for these middle-sized next two or three years. We are working very who supply parts for our diesel engines – are cars, and because of the costs we would hard in this area and co-operating with vari- quite satisfied with the growth we are bring- incur, it was not feasible and we decided not ous research organisations and partners. We ing to them. So clearly we don’t think we to do it. feel we will be on time with fuel cells, but not have a size problem – on the contrary. earlier than the market. Even though it is a large market with big potential? Would you outsource the fuel cell Yes, it is a billion people, but China also is a technology? very large market. India is a very competitive Clearly, fuel cells already exist. market, and if you consider the broader mar- You can buy them from ket you will find that the M1 [lower medium/ Ballard or other suppliers, so C-sector] segment which we are looking at is we are certainly not going to only a small part of the Indian market – develop our own. The tech- about 10 per cent, in fact. Volumes are small nology question is the man- and prices are low. Adding costs there just agement of electric power on does not make sense. board the car. In this field we are

Winter 2001/2002 Ricardo Quarterly Review JEAN-MARTIN FOLZ 19 Consortium creates online experimentation guide

A 10-company consortium, known as DEPE (Design of Experiments tools to help make the process of threshold settingless subjective. for Powertrain Engineering) and led by Ricardo, has completed its The consortium will continue for a second year, applying the prac- first year of operation. The result is an on-line guide, accessible to tical, statistical expertise of Ricardo and its Design of Experiments all consortium members, which consolidates the expertise and expe- (DoE) techniques to new parts of the engine development process. rience that Ricardo has gained over the last decade and provides Find out more from [email protected] or the website www.ricar- instant advice on the best methods to apply to specific engine engi- do.com/pages/techdoe.htm. neering experiments. Ricardo also supports development of the techniques through pre- Consortium members have benefited from the development of sentations and discussion at international conferences. Following on new experimental design, modelling and optimisation software tools, from the successful Institution of Mechanical Engineers (I.Mech.E.) based on stochastic process methods (SPM), which significantly Statistics for Engine Optimisation conference, Ricardo is supporting shorten the engine test bed calibration process. The DEPE consor- a further conference on the theme, Statistics and Analytical Methods tium has also investigated the application of statistics to the analysis in Automotive Engineering. It takes place in London on 24-25 of on-board diagnostics system development data, and provided September 2002. See www.imeche.org.uk for more information.

Record results for fourth consecutive year FIGURES to June 2001 show that Basic earnings per share up 17.5 per Ricardo,” said chief executive Rodney Ricardo plc has posted record financial cent to 22.2p (2000: 18.9p) Westhead. “We start the year with our results for the fourth year in a row. The Order book at record levels – up 33 per order book at record levels. We are seeing results reveal: cent to £59m good performance across the business, Profit before tax up 18 per cent to Dividend up 5 per cent to 7.8p and have been delighted with our involve- £15.1m (2000: £12.8m) Ricardo’s involvement with BMW’s new ment in BMW’s new MINI. In these uncer- Turnover up 15.5 per cent to £139.9m MINI a major success tain times, our level of confidence in the (2000: £121.1m) “This has been another good year for future remains high.”

20 RICARDO NEWS Ricardo Quarterly Review Winter 2001/2002 Ricardo Inc to build 11-acre technology campus

RICARDO, Inc. is to build a Detroit The Belleville facility will form Technology Campus on an 11-acre exten- the nucleus of the Detroit Technology Campus sion of its present headquarters. The site will feature a new 76,000 sq ft building, giving the company a total of more than 111,000 sq ft of offices and technical workshops at that location. “The new facility will allow for the con- solidation of existing facilities in use in the Detroit area that arose from growth over the last four years,” said Jeremy Holt, president of Ricardo, Inc. “It will also establish a base for serving our customers in the future with project and technical facilities. The Technology Campus will be a base for powertrain and broad vehicle capabilities, and is designed to be expanded in the future.”

India’s largest motorcycle maker uses race-proven Ricardo software

RICARDO is licensing Bajaj package for the analysis Auto, India’s biggest manufactur- of all common valvetrain er of motorcycles, scooters and systems, will allow its three-wheeler vehicles, to use its engineers to rapidly WAVE, VALDYN and CAM- assess an existing cam SPRING advanced powertrain design. VALDYN, a fully dynamic excellent training and online sup- and variations.” software. sister programme to CAM- port from Ricardo made it the Ricardo’s software division has WAVE’s unique engine design SPRING, will enable the detailed obvious choice,” said Mr Bhagat, grown significantly in recent code will enable Bajaj Auto, modelling of the complete valve- Bajaj Auto’s divisional manager. years through the development which produced over 1.2 million train from the crankshaft through “The software is easy to use and and support of its computer- vehicles last year, to simulate vir- the drive system to each individ- allows our engineers to create aided engineering products.Until tually any intake, combustion and ual valve. complex models quickly and a few years ago these were used exhaust system design. CAM- “The sophisticated capabilities accurately, simulating a exclusively for internal R&D proj- SPRING, a kinematics design of these products coupled with large number of parameters ects and consultancy work.

State-of-the-art transmission for Reynard Le Mans car REYNARD Motorsport has transmission features an all- The Reynard 02S-P675 car which is cost-effective commissioned Ricardo new magnesium casing, sports racing car is a clean- as well as highly competi- Driveline and Transmission weighs just 60kg, features sheet design being devel- tive. Systems to design a pur- semi-automatic pneumatic oped for sportscar series on Reynard Motorsport was pose-built transmission for shifting and can be config- both sides of the Atlantic originally formed by Adrian its new 02S-L675 Le Mans ured for both LMP675 and including the American Le Reynard in 1973 and has prototype race car. Work LMP900 chassis. Chief engi- Mans Series, FIA Sportscar grown to become the began in April, and the first neer on the team is Tim Gee Championship and Le Mans world’s leading production car is due to test in early who was responsible for the 24 Hours. The LMP675 class racecar manufacturer. It December ready for the bulletproof longitudinal embraces manufacturer- operates from a purpose 2002 season. gearbox in the Le Mans-win- designed customer entries, built 14-acre complex in The low-mass transverse ning Audi R8. and Reynard has designed a Brackley, Northamptonshire.

Winter 2001/2002 Ricardo Quarterly Review RICARDO NEWS 21 Vehicle Engineering support for the Hummer H2

forerunner but updates the appearance and functionality to appeal to a wider market. The time scale for development of the H2 was extremely compressed, and GM identi- fied the need to commission a team of sup- pliers with the appropriate mix of tools, peo- ple and technology to deliver the pro- gramme. The German-owned engineering company EDAG, which had designed and developed the body of the new Saturn L series, was contracted to develop the body and integrate the other major systems. Ricardo, already well established as a supplier to GM, has extensive Detroit-based facilities and was able to provide a team of experienced engineers very quickly. Ricardo was responsible for design and engineering of the H2’s chassis, the chassis systems and the powertrain systems integration. As soon as contracts were placed, Ricardo moved quickly in April 2000 to co- locate a lead team of engineers from its technical centres in North America and Europe, to join EDAG and GM personnel. THE General Motors Hummer H1 is the years earned the offroad vehicle the status This lead team was supported by vehicle civilian version of the military Hummer that of an American icon. engineering specialists drawn from through- has been extensively used by US forces At the January 2000 North American out Ricardo for activities such as structural since the 1980s. Known to the GIs as the International Auto Show, General Motors and dynamic CAE simulation and analysis. ‘Humvee’, its reputation for toughness and announced its intention to launch a new The Hummer H2 is already being tested its distinctive shape – a product of its wide civilian version of the Hummer, dubbed H2, under extreme off-road conditions, and track, high ground clearance and conse- for the 2003 model year. The Hummer H2 shows promise as a worthy addition to the quent low centre of gravity – have over the retains the primary brand attributes of its important Hummer brand.

Italian Job done

A TEAM of three Minis, in red, white and blue, have brought £5000 of sponsorship money to NCH Action For Children. Crewed by Ricardo engineers, the Minis tackled The Italian Job charity run to Italy with around 80 other cars – mainly Minis (including two new MINIs), but also including Aston Martin DB5s and E-type Jaguars as fea- tured in the famous film. The rally, which began at the end of October, took in autotests, one-hour regularity runs timed to a hundredth of a second (five per day for four days) and visits to race- tracks. Most memorable moment? “We had all the cars parked along the top of a dam,” said Gaétan Didier, who shared a modified, 92bhp, 13-year-old white Mini with Henry Carr. “It was an incredible sight.” The other two cars were both standard, 63bhp three-year-olds.

22 RICARDO NEWS Ricardo Quarterly Review Winter 2001/2002