Genuine Parts Company Announces New Board Members and Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend

    ATLANTA--Nov. 18, 2002--Larry Prince, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Genuine Parts Company , announced the election of Dr. Mary Brown Bullock and Mr. John D. Johns as new Directors of the Company.
    Dr. Bullock is President of Agnes Scott College, an independent, national liberal arts college for women located in Atlanta. Dr. Bullock has served as President of Agnes Scott for seven years, and is also the current Chair of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), an organization that represents nearly 1,000 U.S. higher education institutions.
    Mr. Johns is President and Chief Executive Officer of Protective Life Corporation in Birmingham, Alabama. He previously served as President and Chief Operating Officer and, prior to that, as Chief Financial Officer of Protective Life.
    Mr. Prince stated, "Dr. Bullock and Mr. Johns both bring a great deal of expertise to our Board and we welcome them. We look forward to the strength and talent they will bring to our Board."
    The Board of Directors of Genuine Parts Company declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of 29 cents per share on the Company's common stock.
    The dividend is payable January 2, 2003 to shareholders of record December 6, 2002.

    About Genuine Parts Company

    Genuine Parts Company is a distributor of automotive replacement parts in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The Company also distributes industrial replacement parts in the U.S., Canada and Mexico through its Motion Industries subsidiary. S.P. Richards Company, the Office Products Group, distributes product nationwide in the U.S. and in Canada. The Electrical/Electronic Group, EIS, Inc., distributes electrical and electronic components throughout the U.S. and Mexico.