LucasVarity wins major common rail diesel commitments

11 December 1997

London—LucasVarity plc announced that its Diesel Systems division has won customer commitments worth in excess of 500 million British pound sterling to supply common rail fuel injection systems to Ford Motor Company and Renault S.A.

The program to develop an Electronic Unit Injector (EUI) diesel injection system for Volkswagen, announced by Lucas Industries in 1995, will not be taken through into production. While the system would have met the engineering criteria of the customer and LucasVarity, it does not satisfy the company's Economic Value Added (EVA) criteria for approval of production investment.

Dominique Chauvin, managing director of Lucas Diesel Systems, said: “The majority of vehicle manufacturers are now choosing common rail fuel injection systems for their future car diesel engines, and we are delighted to be able to announce contracts with two of the world's leading carmakers. Our system is world class, and outperforms the competing products which will soon be going into production. We anticipate additional significant common rail business in due course. Demand for the EUI system is growing strongly in the truck market and we have profitable EUI business confirmed in the sport utility sector.”

The LucasVarity Common Rail (LVCR) is designed to meet the stringent emissions requirements of Euro 3, US 98 and beyond. The system is the integration of a high pressure pump, high precision electronically controlled injectors, a rail which serves as a common pressure accumulator, an electronic control unit and a filter unit. This innovative design reduces emissions and noise, and improves fuel economy and drivability.

Lucas Diesel Systems is the world’s second largest manufacturer of diesel fuel injection systems, serving the car, van, truck, bus, agricultural, industrial and marine sectors.

Source: LucasVarity