Paris, France — October 2, 2008 — PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — As a sponsor of Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports, Valeo will equip the new Mitsubishi Racing Lancer for the 2009 Dakar Rally with a new engine cooling system offering 5% fuel savings. The Lancer is also equipped with Valeo's LED daytime running lights.

Unique engine cooling management
The UltimateCooling(TM) equipping this vehicle is an innovative engine cooling system that optimizes the cooling of all fluids using two water circuits - one high and one low temperature. It reduces CO2 emissions and generates fuel savings of up to 5%, and also improves engine performance during acceleration. This system includes two radiators - one high and one low temperature, the latter's rhomboid shape saving space in the front end - and two water-cooled charge air coolers on different levels offering unrivalled cooling efficiency.

High-performance lighting
The vehicle is equipped with Valeo's LED daytime running lights, as well as rear lamps and the center high-mounted stop lamp. Recent progress made in these technologies have reduced power consumption and increased the lifetime of the products to that of the vehicle itself.

The Mitsubishi Racing Lancer unveiled at the Paris Motor Show is the first to have a 3-liter V6 turbo diesel engine. The Mitsubishi team's four vehicles will set off on the South American circuit on January 3, 2009.

Valeo is an independent industrial Group fully focused on the design, production and sale of components, integrated systems and modules for cars and trucks. Valeo ranks among the world's top automotive suppliers. The Group has 122 plants, 61 R&D centers, 9 distribution centers and employs 59,700 people in 28 countries worldwide.