Hella Leads in Automotive Lighting and Electronics

PLYMOUTH, Mich., Oct. 30, 2003 -- Hella and "high-tech" have been synonymous for years in the competitive field of innovative vehicle lighting and electronics. Today the company is building on this tradition by developing a number of new technologies that explore the cutting-edge of both vehicle lighting and electronics.

Hella not only has added more products to its portfolio, but has increased sales across the board. The company posted a 2.3 percent growth in sales during the 2002-2003 fiscal year, bringing its worldwide total to $3.28 billion. The company also added 368 new employees, bringing global employment to nearly 23,000.

"Our steady growth can be tied directly to the investment Hella makes in the research and development of new technologies," said Joe Borruso, president and CEO of Hella North America. "We focus on technologies that benefit the driver and are attractive to our customers."

Some of Hella's latest technology developments include high-tech lighting that can help a driver see during cornering at night; interior lighting that adapts to the driver; LED lighting for exterior use; intelligent battery sensors and an electronic warning system that tells you when you are drifting out of a freeway lane. New Hella products include:

* Bend Lighting, now supplied to Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Opel in Europe, lights up the side of the road based on input from the driver and the vehicle's steering and turn-signal systems. Hella is the first supplier to bring static, dynamic and combined static-dynamic bend systems into series production this year. The systems provide more visibility and safety during night driving.

* Light Emitting Diode (LED) ambient interior light systems developed by Hella and recently introduced on the new Jaguar XJ and on the new BMW 5 and 6 series, deliver light efficiently through glass fibers. Hella uses a series of light strips to give a 3-D appearance to arm rests, handles, trim and switches for driver and passenger comfort.

* LED Lighting Systems will account for an increasing proportion of vehicle lighting in the coming years, along with halogen and xenon lamps, due to their efficient use of energy. The implementation of primary lighting functions in headlamps using LEDs is anticipated by the second half of this decade. The first LED application in series headlamps will occur this year through the positional and daytime running light in the headlamp of an upper range car.

* Electronic Control Modules that interlink a variety of systems act as a gateway for different bus systems and help them work more efficiently. Hella also has developed power management modules to keep a car's electrical system from becoming overloaded. Intelligent battery sensors provide accurate data and fit perfectly into the space of the battery terminal.

* Lane Departure Warning (LDW) provides an audible notice to the driver if the vehicle is drifting from a freeway lane unintentionally. LDW determines, from the position of the vehicle in relation to lane markings and changes in the steering angle or direction indicator, if the driver is changing lanes intentionally or not.

Hella has new lighting, wiring systems and safety-and-comfort module designs under constant development and is one of the industry leaders in new technology advances. From ambient interior lighting systems to a lane departure warning system, Hella is producing designs today that they believe will be the industry standard of tomorrow.

Lighting, electronics, complete vehicle modules, air conditioning systems, vehicle wiring systems and signal processing for the automobile industry, as well as automotive aftermarket components, are the core competence fields of automotive supplier Hella KG Hueck & Co. Sales for the Hella Group are approximately $3.8 billion, placing Hella among the top 100 German industrial companies.

With its corporate headquarters in Lippstadt, Germany, the company employs more than 22,800 people at 61 manufacturing facilities, production subsidiaries and joint-venture companies in 18 countries. Over 1,800 engineers and technicians work in research and development. All of the world's leading automobile and systems manufacturers are Hella customers as well as the automotive components aftermarket.

Additional information is available on the Internet at www.hella.com .