ATX Acquires German-Based Telematics Provider

DUSSELDORF, Germany, Aug. 4, 2003 -- ATX, the leading independent telematics service provider to the automotive industry in North America, announced today it has acquired Vodafone PASSO, GmbH, the telematics service provider owned by European wireless carrier, Vodafone.

The acquired operation will do business as ATX Europe and will continue providing services to BMW drivers throughout Europe. The new company will operate as a unit of ATX Technologies, Inc., Irving (suburban Dallas-Fort Worth), Texas, and will focus on the consumer vehicle market, similar to ATX's North American approach.

"This is another step in a series of moves to grow the worldwide telematics industry, providing automakers with trans-Atlantic solutions that take advantage of economies of scale," said Steve Millstein, president and chief executive officer.

Within the next year, ATX plans to expand to additional European countries including France and Italy. Eventually, ATX plans to provide seamless telematics services throughout the European continent as it does in North America.

ATX Europe initially will be based out of PASSO's current telematics response center in Dusseldorf, however a new location may be considered to accommodate long-term plans. A new call center is likely to be built in 2004 to further service the European market.

Telematics services to be offered by ATX Europe will be expanded to include vRM (vehicle relationship management) applications that ATX introduced last year in North America. The vRM applications use telematics to aggregate vehicle data to reduce costs, generate business, increase efficiency, and retain customer loyalty for automakers and their affiliated dealerships. Existing telematics services that will continue to be offered include navigation, online interaction, concierge assistance, and location-based emergency and breakdown response.

About ATX: ATX Europe, GmbH, is headquartered in Dusseldorf, Germany, and is a unit of ATX Technologies, Inc., of Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. ATX provides leading-edge telematics services for mobile applications including automatic collision notification, location-based emergency response and roadside assistance, stolen vehicle recovery, navigation and location-based traffic information. The company pioneered in-vehicle and automotive aftermarket applications of telematics beginning in 1995. In 2002, ATX introduced vRM (vehicle relationship management) applications to automobile manufacturers and their affiliated dealerships. The vRM platform reduces costs, generates business, and enhances customer loyalty and retention for automobile manufacturers and retailers. ATX customers include Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Jaguar. For more information, visit www.atxna.com .