GM Signs $1-Billion Soviet Emission Pact : Environment: U.S. firm agrees to provide anti-pollution equipment to Volga Auto Works for use on Lada models.

DETROIT —  General Motors Corp. announced today it has signed a nearly $1-billion agreement to provide anti-pollution equipment to Volga Auto Works, or VAZ, the leading vehicle manufacturer in the Soviet Union.

The agreement will enable GM to become the first American-based auto manufacturer in modern times to establish a working relationship with the Soviet auto industry, GM said.

Under the agreement, VAZ will purchase engine management emissions control subsystems and components from GM valued at nearly $1 billion in U.S. dollars over the approximately five-year life of the contract.

In addition, VAZ and GM will discuss the formation of a joint venture to manufacture catalytic converters in the Soviet Union. VAZ operations are located in Togliatti, 700 miles southeast of Moscow.

“Pollution respects no international boundaries; neither should the proven technology to control it,” said William E. Hoglund, executive vice president of GM’s Automotive Components Group and the Power Products and Defense Operations Group.

“VAZ selected General Motors for this program because of GM’s expertise in emissions control, led by AC Rochester Division, and because of our global perspective and technological resources,” Hoglund said.

GM will supply fuel injection and emissions control subsystems and other engine management components, initially for two VAZ models, he said.

VAZ intends to use GM technology to equip its vehicles to meet current and expected worldwide emissions standards, Hoglund said. Engine management systems for several other Soviet cars may be added to the program within a few years, he said.

“These GM engine management systems will not only produce cleaner-burning engines but will also deliver higher fuel economy and improved vehicle performance,” Hoglund said. “GM’s total systems approach will benefit Soviet vehicles immediately.”

The VAZ-GM agreement includes engineering necessary to adopt fuel injection and emissions control systems to the 1.5- and 1.7-liter engines used in Lada models and, potentially, to other Soviet engines, he said.

Engineering support will be provided by the European Technical Center of GM’s Automotive Components Group in Luxembourg, and by GM divisional engineering centers in the United States.

GM shipments to VAZ could begin in early 1992, extending through 1997, Hoglund said. Initially, components will be manufactured in as-yet undetermined GM plants in the United States and Europe, he said.

The components will be manufactured by AC Rochester, the lead division in the VAZ-GM venture; Delco Remy and Packard Electric, other divisions in GM’s Automotive Components Group, and Delco Electronics Corp, a GM-Hughes Electronics subsidiary.