ProQuest Automotive and Hino Motors Sign First Electronic Parts Catalog Agreement

ProQuest Will Develop an Electronic Parts Catalog for Use in All Hino Trucks Dealerships in North America

RICHFIELD, Ohio, Feb. 1 -- ProQuest Automotive announced today that it has signed a five-year agreement with Hino Motors Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, to develop an Electronic Parts Catalog (EPC) application for use in all of the North American dealerships of Hino Motors Sales U.S.A., Inc.

Headquartered in Orangeburg, New York, Hino Motors Sales U.S.A., Inc. (Hino Trucks) is the medium-duty truck arm of Toyota Motor Corporation. Hino Trucks is launching a nationwide sales effort to build U.S. sales of its Class 4, 5, 6 and 7 trucks. The ProQuest EPC in CD format will launch in early February, 2004, timed to coincide with the introduction of a new Hino conventional truck.

"We selected ProQuest to build our North American EPC so that we can provide the most accurate parts information, in an intuitive format, to our CityPak dealer network," said Derek Kaufman, Sr. VP of Sales, Marketing and Customer Support for Hino Trucks. "The new ProQuest EPC will effectively support our emphasis on the serviceability of Hino trucks."

Providing a ProQuest EPC to each dealer in its innovative CityPak dealer network will help Hino Trucks keep the serviceability promise it makes to its customers, many of whom buy dozens of vehicles at a time. Accurate, scrubbed data and user-friendly methods to access parts information, the hallmarks of ProQuest's EPCs, mean that dealership staff can find the parts information they need quickly -- a key element in service quality and customer satisfaction. The new EPC will have a Windows look and feel, many short-cut features, and VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) filtering, which allows parts selection specific to the vehicle being serviced. Hino sees the ProQuest EPC as a significant tool to grow parts and truck sales.

In addition, ProQuest has direct relationships with more than 70 North American dealer management system (DMS) companies. Hino values the fact that ProQuest EPCs integrate fully with DMSs, eliminating the need to retype parts order data. For Hino dealerships, this integration will enhance workflow by allowing access to the dealer's business system without interrupting a transaction. Integration also improves the speed and accuracy of the dealership's parts specification and billing procedures.

Hino chose ProQuest to develop its North American EPC based on ProQuest's reputation for quality, its long-term relationship with Toyota, and the proven strength of the Toyota EPC. The initial stages of the negotiation for the Hino agreement were carried out by ProQuest's office in Japan.

ProQuest Automotive is the leading provider of collaborative business solutions for vehicle manufacturers and their dealer bases. Their proven success with industry-leading companies and their demonstrated ability to streamline processes, improve productivity and increase profits have made ProQuest the leader in electronic information systems within automotive parts and service departments across the globe. The ProQuest line of EPCs enables more than 100,000 parts technicians at 35,000 automotive dealerships around the world to quickly access accurate original equipment parts information needed to service their customers' vehicles. The company offers the broadest range of EPC systems available, serving 32 brands from 20 different automakers in 17 languages.

About ProQuest Automotive

ProQuest Automotive, a business unit of ProQuest Business Solutions Inc., serves the automotive market by developing and marketing software, services and systems that transform complex technical data, like parts catalogs and service manuals, into easily accessed electronic information. For more information on ProQuest Automotive, call 800-443-6910 or visit www.proquestautomotive.com.

About ProQuest Company

ProQuest Company is based in Ann Arbor, Mich., and is a leading publisher of value-added information and content for the library, classroom, automotive and powersports markets. We provide products and services to our customers through two business segments: Information & Learning and Business Solutions. Through our Information & Learning segment, which primarily serves the library and classroom markets, we aggregate and publish value-added content from a wide range of sources including newspapers, periodicals and books. Our Business Solutions segment is primarily engaged in the delivery in electronic form of comprehensive parts and service information to the automotive market. It also provides dealers in the powersports (motorcycle, marine, RV and outdoor power) markets with management systems that enable them to manage their inventory, customer service and other aspects of their businesses.