Delphi's Power Sliding Door Business Expands in Europe

PARIS, March 4 -- Delphi Corp. won three additional contracts to supply its innovative power sliding door to European vehicle manufacturers. By 2006, Delphi will be supplying more than 570,000 units a year for European applications ranging from next-generation city cars to light commercials and multipurpose vehicles, with further growth expected into the next decade.

Power sliding doors allow users to open and close the side-entry doors at the touch of a vehicle-mounted button or remote entry unit, providing the ability to open and close a door even with full hands. The technology also solves the problem of large, heavy doors, which can be particularly difficult to open or close manually if the vehicle is on an incline. Delphi is currently the largest supplier of power sliding doors both in the United States and in Europe with a market share of 75 percent.

"Primarily, the power sliding door offers drivers and passengers unprecedented convenience to enter or exit the vehicle," explains Rebecca S. Farless, Business Line Executive for Delphi's Integrated Closure Systems.

In the United States, demand for power sliding doors has far exceeded original expectations, with Delphi supplying more than two million units since its introduction in 1993. In 2002, Citroen, Fiat, Lancia and Peugeot became the first European manufacturers to offer mass production vehicles fitted with an electric power sliding door when Delphi's latest system was offered on the Peugeot 807, Citroen C8, Fiat Ulysse and Lancia Phedra. Currently, more than 50 percent of these vehicles are being purchased with power sliding doors, clearly showing strong demand from consumers for the convenience of push- button door opening.

"Increased demand for Delphi's technologies worldwide has enabled customers in every region to take advantage of the expertise Delphi has garnered over the last ten years," Farless said. "For example, the application of power sliding doors for smaller vehicles quickly caught our customers' attention. The power sliding door feature enhances the vehicle's value."

Delphi's power sliding door is an electro-mechanical, cable-driven system, designed to open and close track-mounted sliding doors manually or at the touch of a button. Delphi's latest technology innovation reduces the thickness of the drive unit by around 25 percent, allowing it to be fitted in smaller vehicles and in existing body structures with only minimal modifications.

Delphi's portfolio of power products also includes power liftgates, power trunk (boot), lids and power tonneau covers. Manufacturing facilities for these products are in Columbus and Vandalia, Ohio; Ponte de Sor, Portugal; as well as future products, which will be assembled in the Asia Pacific region. For more information about Delphi, visit Delphi's Virtual Press Room at www.delphi.com/media

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