UK engineering firm Ricardo says it has signed a contract to provide thermal system engineering to help China’s Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co. develop a downsized gasoline engine.

The engine will be used in a passenger vehicle that JAC plans to develop.

Ricardo said it will provide advanced thermal simulation and test guidance for the engine. The company also will train JAC’s engineers in China and the United Kingdom to help them develop their own thermal design capability.

Ricardo previously developed a 2.0-liter turbocharged diesel engine for JAC’s light commercial trucks and buses.

JAC, headquartered in Hefei in east China’s Anhui province, makes trucks, vans, pickups, sedans and SUVs. It also has formed a joint venture to produce passenger vehicles in Brazil with dealer group SNS Auto.