Western car makers are in danger of losing out to Asian rivals in the emerging but important hybrid, fuel efficient car market, automotive consultancy Ricardo warned yesterday, according to the Daily Telegraph.
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Dave Shemmans, who takes over as chief executive in November, reportedly said: “The programmes we are working on with Asian manufacturers are not catch-up technology, they are leapfrog technology.”
The paper noted that roughly half of Ricardo’s contracts are related to hybrid technology, and all the major manufacturers expect to have hybrids by 2010.
The Daily Telegraph said that, after a difficult 2004 in which the company collapsed to a £2.76 million loss, it recovered to a £7.35 million pre-tax profit this year. Sales rose 9% to £160 million and the order book was 21% better at £70 million.
The paper noted that Ricardo was also a major beneficiary of UK chancellor (treasury head) Gordon Brown’s R&D tax credits – it paid just 2.5% of profits in taxes.
