Orbital and Bajaj Sign License Agreement PERTH, Australia, May 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Orbital Engine Corporation Limited, Australia and Bajaj Auto Ltd, India have announced a Technical Cooperation Agreement that will see Orbital's fuel injection technology applied to a significant volume of Bajaj's autorickshaw three wheeler vehicles. The agreement for seven years provides exclusivity to Bajaj on its autorickshaw vehicles for the three years following the commencement of production, expected to be during 2005. Bajaj, based in Pune, is one of India's largest producers of two and three wheelers and dominates the autorickshaw market segment in Asia. The autorickshaw is the ubiquitous form of transport throughout India and much of Asia and is currently enjoying strong growth. The Indian market is increasingly emissions conscious with more stringent emissions standards commencing in 2005 and further strengthening in 2008/2009. The market is also fuel economy conscious and Orbital's direct injection technology provides significantly improved fuel economy and vehicle operating costs, in addition to desirable engine performance. This agreement and related arrangements with Bajaj provides Orbital with revenue streams from its intellectual property and engineering consulting services for ongoing technical support. UCAL Fuel Systems Limited, which entered into arrangements with Orbital in January 2003 to manufacture Orbital's fuel injection systems in India, will be the supplier to Bajaj. Synerject, Orbital's manufacturing joint venture with Siemens-VDO Automotive Corporation, will initially supply selected components, such as the air injector, to UCAL. UCAL's high quality and low cost manufacturing base will allow cost effective fuel injection system supply to this very important customer as well as the rapidly growing Indian market. "We have great expectations for the Bajaj autorickshaw equipped with Orbital's direct injection technology. Outstanding fuel economy and reduced emissions, along with improved drivability is exactly what our customers need. We expect our strong dominance of this sector of the market to continue," commented Bajaj's Joint Managing Director, Mr. Rajiv Bajaj. "We look forward to working closely with UCAL and Orbital to achieve our product goals." "We are very pleased with this agreement with Bajaj. This is an important further step into Asia for us," said Orbital's Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Peter Cook. "Bajaj is the right partner for Orbital in the autorickshaw sector with its dominant market presence and its highly capable engineering abilities." Orbital is an international developer of engine and related technologies, providing research, design and development services for the worlds producers of powertrains and engine management systems for application in motorcycles, marine and recreational vehicles, automobiles and trucks. Orbital's principal operations in Perth, Western Australia, provide a world class facility with capabilities in design, manufacturing, development and testing of engines and powertrains unparalleled in the Asia Pacific region. Orbital provides its customers with leading edge, world class, engineering expertise. Headquartered in Perth, Western Australia, Orbital stock is traded on the Australian Stock Exchange (OEC), the New York Stock Exchange (OE) as well as the Berlin (ORE) and Frankfurt (OREA) Exchanges. DATASOURCE: Orbital Engine Corporation Limited CONTACT: Australia - Peter Cook, Chief Executive Officer, Orbital Engine Corporation Limited, +61-8-9441-2311, or USA - 1-810-245-0621, or Web site: http://www.orbeng.com/

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