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OBVIO ! from Rio De Janeiro Close to Securing $700 Million Project Finance Deal to Export Ethanol Microcars to USA


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ORLANDO, Fla. & RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil--July 25, 2006--

  OBVIO ! in Final Negotiations with Banks in Europe, Brazil and North America for Financing to Build 50,000 Units Starting in Late 2007  



OBVIO ! Automotoveiculos S.A. has announced that the company is close to securing medium and long-term project financing to build 50,000 urban cars a year.

OBVIO ! is in final negotiations with banks in Europe, Brazil and North America to finalize the $700 million project finance deal. The Brazilian government is also backing the project with financing and other economic development incentives. OBVIO ! is the first Brazilian-owned automobile manufacturer to export automobiles to North America, the company said.

The Duque de Caxias Mayor Washington Reis has backed the project by offering a manufacturing facility, and Governor Rosinha Garotinho, with the Secretary of the State of Rio de Janeiro Wagner Victor and Sub-Secretary Delmo Pinho, have pledged additional taxes and export incentives for OBVIO ! which would generate up to 4,000 jobs directly.

OBVIO ! has a strategic partnership with California automobile distributor ZAP, which has agreed to pre-purchase 50,000 OBVIO ! units through a $425 million line of credit provided by a bank in the United States. ZAP has experience with microcars; last year introducing the famous Smart Cars from Europe to the USA, receiving more than 150,000 pre-orders from U.S. dealers.

"A 100% outsourcing development and manufacturing of the cars with a key suppliers partnership, a Project-Finance, and the 50,000 cars pre-purchased prove that this new approach OBVIO ! is using can define new rules in the automotive market," says the CEO of OBVIO ! Ricardo Machado.

The OBVIO ! 828 prototype was on display recently in California at the annual Rat Fink gathering of custom cars and hot rods. OBVIO ! was partly inspired by the car culture of California, mixed with a Brazilian soul of irreverence, happiness and fresh approaches to automotive design.

About OBVIO !

OBVIO ! Automotoveiculos S.A. is a new developer and manufacturer of high-safety and high-performance automobiles in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. OBVIO ! has assembled a network of strong suppliers to incorporate the latest advances in automotive engineering into a new generation of automobiles that meets the challenges of today's urban driving environment. OBVIO ! is setting up a manufacturing facility in Xerem at Duque de Caxias city, in Rio de Janeiro. OBVIO ! cars incorporate many state-of-the-art composite technologies, materials and features for urban cars that are fun and efficient. For more information, visit http://www.obviousa.com.