Lear Corporation: A Proud History In The Asian Automotive Industry

TOKYO (PROTEXT) - Lear Corporation (NYSE: LEA) beganoperations in 1917 as American Metal Products producing metalseat frames, and today is a global leader in providing automotivesystems to major automotive manufacturers in Japan, Asia Pacificand around the world. Lear's heritage includes a long history serving Asia'sautomakers and providing superior products to meet the needs ofthe Asian market. Lear is the global leader in automotive seatsystems, as well as one of the world's top three suppliers ofheadliners, electronics, door panels, and flooring and acousticsystems. In the past five years, Lear's business outside of Europe andNorth America has grown dramatically. For 1994, Lear reportedsales of $196.3 million in rest-of-world (ROW) markets. Lear'sproforma 1998 ROW sales (which include Lear's latestacquisitions) were $900 million. During the past five years, thecompany's ROW sales as a percentage of its total global salesincreased from six percent in 1994 to nine percent in 1998. Lear conducts business with most major Asia Pacific automotivemanufacturers including Honda, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Toyota inNorth America and Europe; Isuzu, Mazda, Subaru and Suzuki inNorth America; Chang'an Automotive, Daewoo, GM-Holden, Honda,Hyundai, Isuzu, Mahindra & Mahindra, Mitsubishi, and Mazda inother markets. Lear also has business with PSA, Ford and GeneralMotors through their joint ventures in the Asia Pacific region. Lear has a growing presence in the Japanese market. Thecompany has facilities with engineering and design capability inJapan -- located in Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagoya. Lear currentlyships electronics and switches to the domestic Japanese marketfrom its operations in North America and the Philippines. Lear also has a significant presence in the Asia Pacificregion. The company's Asia Pacific Operations, headquartered inSingapore, has facilities in Australia, China, India, Philippinesand Thailand. Since 1990, Lear has been producing high quality leather seattrim covers in Thailand for its seating operations in Europe andNorth America. In 1995, Lear opened facilities in Australia andIndia to provide just-in-time seating to General Motors. In 1998,the company won a contract to design, engineer and manufacture atotal interior for Mahindra & Mahindra in India. Lear also openedfacilities to provide just-in-time seating to Mahindra on itscurrent vehicle platforms. Earlier this year, Lear announced that the company has signeda letter of intent to purchase a portion of Hyundai MotorCorporation's seating business. When finalized, the acquisitionwill provide the company's Asia Pacific Operations a strong basein Korea. In May 1999, Lear advanced its global business with theacquisition of United Technologies Automotive (UTA). Of specialsignificance was the addition of world-class electronic andelectrical distribution systems capabilities. The acquisitionalso expanded Lear's worldwide presence into the Philippines,adding engineering and manufacturing in Cebu. The engineeringcenter supports electronics and interior products. Themanufacturing facilities produce wire harnesses for the domestic,North American and Japanese markets. In addition to its wholly owned operations, the growth ofLear's Asian automotive business has been enhanced by a number ofimportant partnerships. In 1987, Lear and NHK Spring Company Ltd. of Yokohama, Japanformed General Seating, a joint venture company that capitalizedon NHK's manufacturing system and Lear's technology for seatsystems and other interior components. General Seating has just-in-time seating plants in Frankfort, Indiana (USA) and inWoodstock, Ontario (Canada). Its customers during the past 12years included CAMI Automotive (a General Motors-Suzuki jointventure), Honda and SIA (a Subaru-Isuzu joint venture). Another joint venture with NHK, General Seating (Thailand) Co.Ltd., was established in late 1996. This venture provides just-in-time seating to Ford/Mazda and Volvo; and will expand toinclude BMW next year. Lear and NHK recently established a research and developmentoperation based in Dearborn, Michigan (USA), along with Lear'sTransnational Division, which oversees Lear's interest in GeneralSeating. Its close proximity to the Lear Corporation WorldHeadquarters and Technology Center complex provides access toLear's total systems capabilities including state-of-the-industrydesign and validation operations. In 1996, Lear made its first expansion into the rapidlyemerging Chinese market, forming a joint venture with JianglingMotors Co., Ltd. of Nanchang, China. The new company, Lear-Jiangling Interior Systems Co., Ltd., initially supplied seatsand interior trim for Isuzu trucks and Ford Transit vans producedat the Jiangling Motors plant. In 1998, Lear increased its presence in China announcing jointventures with Chang'an Automobile to provide full interiorcomponents for Chang'an Automotive in Chongqing; Shanghai CarCarpet to produce automotive carpets for Shanghai General Motorsin Shanghai; and Shanghai Vehicle Awning to produce interior trimcomponents for Shanghai General Motors. Also through the UTA acquisition, Lear assumed an ownershipinterest in a joint venture with DCAC in Wuhan, China. The jointventure produces wire harnesses for PSA and next year will beginto export wire harnesses to Citroen in France. In 1998, Lear announced a joint venture with Hanil to producefull interior systems for Hyundai's manufacturing plant in India. Lear also assumed UTA's majority interest in a joint venturewith Furukawa of Tokyo, Japan, now doing business as Lear-Furukawa. The joint venture is based in El Paso, Texas (USA) andproduces wire harnesses for Honda, Isuzu, Mazda and Subaru forthe North American market. When Lear acquired Masland Industries in 1996, it also assumedMasland's ownership interest in AMTEX, which has operations inLebanon, Ohio (USA) and Manteca, California (USA). This jointventure, formed by Masland and Hayashi Telempu of Nagoya, Japanin 1983, produces flooring and acoustic systems and otherinterior products for Isuzu, Mazda, Mitsubishi, NUMMI (a GM-Toyota venture), Subaru and Toyota for the North Americanautomotive market. Lear Corporation (NYSE: LEA), a Fortune 200 companyheadquartered in Southfield, Michigan (USA), is one of theworld's largest automotive suppliers, with 1998 proforma sales ofmore than $12 billion. The company's world-class products aredesigned, engineered and manufactured by more than 100,000employees in over 300 facilities located in 33 countries.Information about Lear and its products is available on theInternet at http://www.lear.com ots Original Text Service: LearCorporation Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: LeslieA. Touma, Vice President - Corporate Relations, (USA) +248-447-7760, fax +248-447-1722, e-mail, ltouma@lear.com, or KarenStewart- Spica, Director Corporate Communications, +248-447-1651,fax +248-447-5944, e-mail kstewart@lear.com, both of LearCorporation Company News On-Call:http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/518304.html or fax (USA), 800-758-5804, ext. 518304 Web site: http://www.lear.com

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