Pioneer and Toyota Partner to Develop Branded Audio For Toyota's New Vehicle Line

NEW YORK, NEW YORK AUTO SHOW, March 29 -- Toyota and Pioneer Corporation today announced a partnership to develop branded in-car audio systems designed for Toyota's new line of SCION vehicles targeting a new generation of buyers.

The Pioneer SCION sound system will be designed to meet the demanding appetite of today's youth market for sonic sound quality. To achieve this, Pioneer has developed a unique DSP-based sound processing called SCION Sound Processing that will be standard in all SCION vehicles. The six speaker Pioneer SCION sound system is designed with the flexibility to add a six disc in-dash CD changer and satellite radio as options for the ultimate audio experience.

``We're very happy to be working with Pioneer. We believe that Pioneer is a respected brand whose name resonates well with the SCION target buyer,'' said Brian Bolain, SCION national manager. ``At SCION we recognize the importance of audio equipment to our buyers. Pioneer brings a vast amount of technical expertise to the table, and a strong willingness to work closely with the manufacturer.''

SCION is a new line of vehicles that will be marketed through Toyota dealers. The first vehicles will be available in the United States in June 2003 with a national roll-out expected by June 2004. Toyota anticipates that 100,000 SCION vehicles will be sold in the first full year.

``We're thrilled to bring the expertise and cachet of the Pioneer brand to the new line of trend-setting vehicles Toyota is developing for the youth market,'' said Russ Johnston, senior vice president, strategic planning and marketing, Pioneer Automotive Electronic Sales, Inc. ``With our decades of experience in the North American market, we are very excited to develop SCION audio systems for consumers who make audio an integral part of their daily lives.''