AUTOALLIANCE THAILAND IS LARGEST VEHICLE EXPORTER DURING FIRST QUARTER OF 2005

(I-Newswire) May 21, 2005 - According to data released by The Federation of Thai Industries, the total number of CBU exports from January to March for AAT reached a top ranking of 19,388 units representing a 22.29% share of Thailand's total CBU exports valued at 8.05 billion Baht. Compared to the same period last year, AAT showed an increase of 32% in CBU exports, up 4,724 units from 14,664 units.

In the first quarter, AAT's completely knocked-down (CKD) exports reached 10,060 units – a 39% increase over same period last year - or equivalent to value of 2.21 billion Baht. This brings AAT total export value in the first quarter to 10.26 billion Baht.

Yuji Nakamine, president of AutoAlliance Thailand said, "Our success in beating the competition to become the Number 1 Vehicle Exporter is a significant accomplishment, which all our employees can be proud of. AAT represents the successful partnership between Ford and Mazda where we are recognized as a Center of Excellence for Quality by our customers all around the world.

"In addition to our export success, AAT is proud to contribute to growth of Thailand's automotive industry and healthy economic development through increased employment opportunities, growth of the supply base, technology transfer and a positive trade balance. With our capability and strong presence in Thailand, we are confident that AAT can support the Thailand's vision to become the Detroit of Asia," added Nakamine-san.

AAT's first quarter results demonstrates strong performance fueled by new product introductions such as the Ranger 4X2 Hi-Rider Active and Ranger 4X4 Automatic. In 2004, AAT's annual production reached 139,371 units comprising 106,191 CBU units and 33,180 CKD units. Of the total CBU production, more than 70% were built for export and 100% CKD export.

AAT exports the Ford Ranger and Mazda Fighter trucks to more than 130 countries worldwide including Europe, South America, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South East Asia. In addition, the Ford Everest 7-seater SUV is exported to more than 50 countries such as South East Asia, Middle East, Africa and South Pacific nations.

Today, AAT has surpassed 450,000th unit production and its volume exports have contributed to increased revenue and a positive trade balance of more than 59 billion Baht to Thailand's economy.

With a solid supply base of more than 100 component suppliers, AAT has achieved 80 % local content. AAT purchases approximately 20 billion Baht each year from Thai parts suppliers. In addition, Ford's regional manufacturing needs have created new export opportunities for its parts and components suppliers, allowing them to export an estimated 2 billion Baht annually. This has contributed significantly to the development of Thailand's local supply base to support the growing automotive sector.

AAT is presently running at maximum capacity of 120,000 units CBU and 35,000 units CKD, at two-shift capacity. With approximately 2,700 employees, AAT has a strong workforce of engineers and skilled workers, and is committed to people development, training and occupational safety.

Realizing the demands on AAT's production capacity, Ford Motor Company chairman and CEO Bill Ford, had announced an additional 21 billion bhat (US$500 million) investment to support new vehicle programs and AAT's capacity expansion during his visit to the facility in October 2003. This growth plan is currently being implemented in phases -- driven by new vehicle programs, it requires investments in facility upgrades, additional tooling and engineering, as well as an expansion of the plant's capacity to 200,000 units (both CBU and CKD), up from 135,000 units.

According to John Felice, president of Ford Thailand, "The phase-by-phase capacity expansion at AAT is required to support the increasing global demand for the Ford Ranger pickups particularly in Europe and Middle East. Domestically, sales of Ford Ranger continue to be strong – in March, we recorded the 4th Best Ranger Sales Month ever, which is an outstanding achievement!"

"My congratulations to the leadership of Nakamine-san and the strong commitment and dedication of the AAT team to deliver such outstanding results!" said Felice. "Through the high product quality delivered by AAT combined with all of our efforts focused on customer and service satisfaction, Ford is confident that we will continue to see improvements in our Sales and Service Satisfaction scores, as demonstrated by the prestigious J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index Award won in 2004."

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