Shares in specialist engineering firm Torotrak (LON:TRK) advanced almost 10 percent in early deals as it confirmed a flagship deal with Volvo. 

The Swedish vehicle manufacturer is using Torotrak’s CVT - continuously variable transmission – technology for new low emission hybrid cars.

Torotrak said it is another powerful opportunity to demonstrate the contribution that mechanical hybrids can make to reduce emissions and improve fuel economy.

"We sense real momentum in the rapidly growing markets for efficiency-enhancing devices to reduce CO2 emission,” chief executive Dick Elsy said.

“The industry needs cost-effective hybrid solutions and using a Torotrak variable drive transmission in conjunction with a mechanical flywheel has demonstrated the capability for double-digit improvements in fuel economy."

According to Torotrak its CVT technology is more effective than conventional electric hybrid systems that convert and store kinetic energy, generated through braking, into battery packs.

Instead energy is ‘stored’ in a high-speed flywheel and the power transfer is controlled by a compact CVT. Mechanical hybrids can also be used to boost the low-end torque of downsized engines and can provide immediate torque for vehicles with stop-start strategies, Torotrak said.

Vice president of Volvo Powertrain Engineering Derek Crabb said: "If the tests and technical development go as planned, we expect cars with flywheel technology to reach the showrooms within a few years. 

“Flywheel technology is relatively cheap. It can be used in a much larger volume of our cars than top-of-the-line technology such as the plug-in hybrid. This means that it has potential to play a major role in our CO2-cutting 'DRIVe Towards Zero' strategy."

The two companies are looking to deploy the vehicles with national fleets early next year, looking to cover the demand for “greener” technology from commercial fleets and parcel delivery companies on the continent that are looking to transition to all-electric vehicles in 2010.

To support this transition, Enova is integrating its 120kW (kilowatt) all-electric drive system technology with selected FCCC chassis platforms, including the MT-45 walk-in van chassis used by a range of FCCC's national fleet customers and offering a gross vehicle weight up to 19,000 lbs (pounds) with maximum payloads of 10,000 lbs.

The first phase of the initiative included the demonstration of the Enova Ze walk-in van powered by Enova’s integrated all-electric drive technology to customers from the national fleet industry.

"The response has been extremely enthusiastic... 2010 is poised to be a green year for national fleets,” said Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Enova John Mullins.

Among those who participated in the demonstrations were the U.S. Department of Energy, United States Postal Service, US Postal Regulatory Commission, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

In 2009, Enova and FCCC identified and qualified national fleet operators who will receive the first deployment of pilot vehicles. Enova also completed a supplier audit conducted at the company's Torrance facility.

During the second phase, Enova will demonstrate the performance of its electric vehicles (AVs) on real-world delivery routes, and deploy EVs across the commercial fleet segment.

The business still posted a year on year profit fall of 57.6% to £65.4 million from £130.3 million a year ago, a significant decline but better than the forecast performance. According to Reuters, the profits were projected to be in the range between £44m and £52m.

Sales amounted to £2.8 billion, a 15.5% year on year decline.

The company said it was helped by an efficient cost reduction campaign implemented after car sales sank to record lows, causing stock to plummet by some 90%.

Inchcape renegotiated supplier contracts, terminated 2,000 jobs, reduced non-essential expenditure and shut down 24 sites, reducing the cost base by £48.3 million, a 13% year on year drop. The company said it planned to advance these measures and cut 350 more jobs in the Baltic countries and Russia and close another seven retail sites, hoping to save £5.5 million.

As was announced earlier, Inchcape decided against paying an interim dividend this year after doling out 5.46p per share a year ago. Basic earnings per share were at 0.7p after hitting 3.5p in 2008.

The company today announced the appointment of John McConnell as the new Group Finance Director, effective 1 October 2009. McConnell will also join the Board as an Executive Director.

Following the release of half year results, Inchcape added 10%.

The business acquired complements the group's existing Ford operations in Birmingham, Cheltenham and Gloucester, and the acquisition introduces the Mazda franchise to Vertu for the first time.

The acquisition will be funded from the proceeds of the recent share plscing which raised £30 million to invest in new dealership operations, to extend the productive capacity of existing operations and to purchase the freeholds of existing leasehold sites.

Following the deal Vertu Motors will operate 45 franchised operations, four non-franchised and two standalone service operations.

The funds will give the group a robust capital structure which will provide greater flexibility in current market conditions, GKN said in a statement.

Sales for the five months ended May 31 2009 totalled £1.8 billion, a 10 percent decrease over the comparable period in 2008, including £584 million of benefit from currency translation and the Filton acquisition.

The restructuring plans announced in February have been accelerated and the group expects increasing benefits from these cost reduction actions through the balance of 2009.

Antonov signed the deal with Chongqing Lan Dai Industry Co Ltd after previously signing an LoI with Sichuan Jianghan Industrial Group Co. Ltd, as announced in March 2009. It is now finalising the detailed structure of the joint venture, including the final list of partners.

The transmissions maker believes Lan Dai is an excellent lead partner for the new venture, delivering the core capabilities of broad market access, mass production knowledge and transmissions technology experience. Lan Dai is currently completing new factory and office space, part of which could be allocated to the operations of the joint venture, Antonov said.

Ahead of any agreement, both Antonov and Lan Dai have made a commitment to invest up to €2 million, in aggregate, in new development projects with other car manufacturers, including Lifan who will participate in building prototype demonstrator vehicles.

Lan Dai recorded turnover of USD 70 million in 2008 and employs 1,400 people in the Chong Qing province, and has a well established customer base among Chinese vehicle manufacturers including Geely, Chery, Lifan, YuAn and FAW. It also has established long term partnerships with companies in Iran, India and Korea.

The latest letter of intent anticipates that the venture will need a minimum of €30 million of funding, but this could be reduced through access to the existing facilities of Lan Dai. Both parties have demonstrated a willingness to invest €15 million, but this figure could be reduced by the involvement of other partners.

At midday, shares were trading up more than 46 percent from yesterday’s closing level, having come off late-morning gains of as much as 55 percent.

It also announced full-year results which reflect what it called the most severe market conditions since the early nineties, as it saw sales plummeting to £4.2 billion from £5.1 billion a year earlier and it slipped into a pretax loss of £200.6 million in 2008 from a profit of £46.5 million. The fall in revenue is a consequence of poor trading conditions and dealership closures in the year to end-December 2008.

Pendragon confirmed a month ago that it was in talks with its lenders with a view to restructuring its loan agreements and today announced details of a deal for a new three year secured financing package of £530 million.

The new facility has a margin of 3.25 percent above LIBOR, up from 0.9 percent above LIBOR under the previous arrangements, which at current interest rate levels will provide a substantial saving, and the covenants are at levels that provide sufficient headroom and flexibility for the group for the next three years, it said.

“We anticipate a stabilisation in the used car market this year which is a key area for us going forward.  We expect the new car market to remain subdued for the next 12 months and then we believe a gradual improvement will be seen,” Pendragon said.

“We have taken actions which give us confidence that we will improve the performance of the group in 2009 despite the difficult markets anticipated. The group is now well placed to take advantage of markets when they recover and is currently trading in line with our expectations,” it added.

The agreement allows Collins' distributors and customers to specify Azure's Balance technology on orders for their Type A school buses which can typically transport between 14 and 30 passengers.

In a statement, Azure said Collins is the largest manufacturer of small school buses in North America. "Collins represents an ideal partner for Azure and furthers our goal of developing relationships with key industry leaders," commented Scott Harrison, Azure chief executive officer. "Type A school buses are especially prevalent in urban school fleets where they make frequent starts and stops and spend significant time idling. These characteristics are all part of Azure's technology focus, so Collins customers will experience significant return on investment."

"Our distributors and customers are asking for a hybrid bus alternative," Kent Tyler, Collins Bus president was cited as saying. "Azure has a federally approved bus application on the Ford E-450 chassis, so we will be the only Type A bus provider that offers all of the advantages associated with a hybrid derivative.”

Collins sells buses under both the Collins and Mid Bus brands in the United States and as Corbeil in Canada. The company has a developed network of distributors that serve its key markets and customers.

The Azure technology mated to the Ford E-450 chassis has undergone significant durability testing to be eligible for school bus programs. Azure technology is currently operating in major vehicle fleets in both the United States and Canada.

This technology can also be applied to regeneration of diesel particulate filters and lean nitrogen oxide (NOx) traps in various global applications, Clean Diesel said.

Eaton is targeting NOx and particulate matter control technologies for production in 2011 and beyond in various applications, it added.

Financial details were not disclosed.