What Ricardo, Inc. does

Ricardo, Inc. is the US arm of Ricardo, a propulsion and vehicle engineering firm that works with automotive OEMs and tier suppliers from strategy and concept through prototype, production, and through-life support. Its US base is the Detroit Technical Center at 40000 Ricardo Drive in Van Buren Township, Michigan, a 74,000-square-foot site inside the metropolitan Detroit engineering corridor. The company describes itself as technology-agnostic, delivering engineering, testing, and niche manufacturing as an integrated offering rather than a single product line.

The technical work spans the full range of modern propulsion. Ricardo designs and integrates internal combustion, hybrid, battery-electric, and hydrogen fuel-cell systems, and pairs that with electrification engineering across ePowertrains, power electronics, and energy storage. A large part of the US operation is test and validation: dynamometer, driveline, climatic, and functional rig work for combustion, hybrid, and electrified powertrains, the kind of program work that OEMs and suppliers outsource to hit emissions targets and validate new designs before they reach a plant.

Alongside the consulting and test business, Ricardo runs specialist low-volume manufacturing. In 2026 the company announced a new manufacturing line at the Van Buren Township site to design, develop, and supply a high-performance gasoline-powered engine for a customer, an example of the firm carrying a program from the drawing board through to building the hardware. That breadth, engineering plus test plus niche production under one roof, is the differentiator Ricardo emphasizes.

The 2026 Michigan expansion

Ricardo is putting real capital into its US footprint. In July 2026 the company confirmed a $24.1 million investment to add a new engine manufacturing line at its Van Buren Township facility, a project expected to create at least 114 jobs in Wayne County. The Michigan Strategic Fund approved an $855,000 performance-based grant through the Michigan Business Development Program to support the project, with workforce services from Southeast Michigan Works!

The program is worth reading as a demand signal. A customer-backed contract large enough to justify a new production line, plus state co-investment, tells a buyer more about a supplier's near-term health than any single revenue figure would. Ricardo's own framing tied the move to the region's engineering and assembly talent base; the Detroit Regional Partnership described the expansion as a fit for the area's automotive workforce. For procurement teams weighing engineering partners, an actively expanding US site with committed hiring is a positive indicator of capacity and continuity.

Ownership and history

Ricardo, Inc. was established in 1989 and has operated in Southeast Michigan for more than 35 years. It is the US subsidiary of Ricardo, an engineering firm founded in 1915 by Sir Harry Ricardo as Engine Patents Limited and long headquartered in Shoreham-by-Sea, England. That heritage, more than a century of combustion and propulsion engineering, is central to how the company positions itself.

The ownership picture changed recently. Ricardo was a company listed on the London Stock Exchange until 2025, when Canadian professional-services firm WSP Global acquired the group; the transaction completed in October 2025. Ricardo now brands itself as a member of WSP, a firm that operates in more than 50 countries and employs roughly 75,000 people. For a US buyer, the practical read is that the Detroit operation now sits inside a much larger, financially substantial global engineering and advisory group, rather than a standalone mid-cap consultancy.

Certifications and quality

Ricardo manages the full development process in-house, from design through prototype and production, which the company says lets it maintain rigorous quality standards and keep expert oversight across a program. Its test and validation business runs accredited engineering laboratories, the type of facility that OEM programs require for repeatable, traceable measurement. This profile does not carry a dated US-site quality certificate, so those claims are reported as the company states them rather than verified against a specific certificate on file. Buyers running a formal supplier qualification, including APQP and PPAP steps for the new engine line, should request current certification documents directly.

Known customers

Ricardo's engineering and manufacturing programs are almost entirely confidential, which is normal for a firm doing propulsion development under OEM non-disclosure. No specific US customer is named in public filings for the current programs.

Beyond that documented but unnamed program, Ricardo serves automotive OEMs and suppliers across combustion, hybrid, electric, and hydrogen work, and works across aerospace and defence, clean energy, and marine sectors at the group level. Prospective buyers should treat customer references as available on request under NDA.

Frequently asked questions

What does Ricardo, Inc. do?

Ricardo, Inc. is the US arm of Ricardo, a propulsion and vehicle engineering firm. From its Detroit Technical Center in Van Buren Township, Michigan, it provides engineering design, test and validation, and niche manufacturing for internal combustion, hybrid, battery-electric, and hydrogen powertrains, working with automotive OEMs and suppliers from strategy through production.

Who owns Ricardo, Inc.?

Ricardo, Inc. is the US subsidiary of Ricardo, which became a member of WSP Global when the Canadian professional-services firm's acquisition of the group completed in October 2025. Ricardo was founded in 1915 in England and was listed on the London Stock Exchange before the WSP deal.

Where is Ricardo, Inc. located?

Ricardo, Inc.'s US operation is the Detroit Technical Center at 40000 Ricardo Drive, Van Buren Township, Michigan 48111-1641, a 74,000-square-foot facility in the metropolitan Detroit area. The company has operated in Southeast Michigan since 1989.

What is Ricardo's Michigan expansion?

In July 2026 Ricardo announced a $24.1 million investment to add a new engine manufacturing line at its Van Buren Township site, expected to create at least 114 jobs in Wayne County. The Michigan Strategic Fund approved an $855,000 performance-based grant to support the project, which will design, develop, and supply a high-performance gasoline-powered engine for a customer.

What engineering capabilities does Ricardo offer?

Ricardo covers advanced propulsion engineering across combustion, hybrid, battery-electric, and hydrogen fuel-cell systems, plus electrification work on ePowertrains, power electronics, and energy storage. Its US site is strong in test and validation, running dynamometer, driveline, climatic, and functional rig programs, and it also performs specialist low-volume manufacturing.

How large is Ricardo, Inc.?

Ricardo, Inc. employs an estimated 250 to 499 people at its Michigan operation, with a US revenue band of roughly $20 to $50 million; the company does not publish audited standalone figures. It is part of Ricardo's global engineering group of more than 1,000 team members, itself a member of WSP Global with about 75,000 employees worldwide.

Last verified September 28, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.