Gentex and Ford Europe Team Up on MVP

ZEELAND, Mich., Jan. 15, 2004 -- Gentex Corporation, the leading supplier of automatic-dimming mirrors to the worldwide automotive industry, is shipping interior, automatic-dimming mirrors for Ford Europe's new Focus C-Max, its first compact multi-purpose vehicle.

Gentex Night Vision Safety(TM) (NVS(R)) mirrors automatically darken to reduce glare from the headlamps of vehicles approaching from the rear. The brighter the glare, the darker the mirrors become, making nighttime driving safer.

The Gentex auto-dimming mirror is standard on the C-Max Ghia series, and is available as an option on the C-Max Studio, LX and Zetec series.

"The popularity of our mirrors on other Ford Europe models helped us secure the Focus C-Max business," said Gentex Executive Vice President Garth Deur. "Compact cars are incredibly popular in Europe, and this is a key vehicle for Gentex as we seek to increase our penetration in this segment of the market."

Gentex Corporation is an international company that provides high-quality products to the worldwide automotive industry and North American fire protection market.

The Company develops, manufactures and markets interior and exterior automatic-dimming automotive rearview mirrors that utilize proprietary electrochromic technology to dim in proportion to the amount of headlight glare from trailing vehicle headlamps. More than 95 percent of the Company's revenue is derived from the sale of those products to the world automotive industry.

Gentex was the first company in the world to successfully develop and produce a commercial automatic-dimming rearview mirror. After more than 15 years of supplying these products in the highly competitive global automotive industry, the Company remains the leading supplier of these mirrors. Gentex OEM customers include Acura, Audi, Bentley, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Isuzu, Kia Motors, Land Rover, Lexus, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, Renault, Samsung, MG Rover, Rolls Royce, SsangYong Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo Car Corporation.

Founded in 1974, Gentex has its manufacturing facilities in Zeeland, Michigan, and automotive sales and engineering offices in Detroit, Michigan; Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, France and Korea. The Company is recognized for its quality products; for its proprietary manufacturing skills and equipment and application of world class manufacturing principles; for its commitment to developing and maintaining a highly skilled workforce, and for encouraging employee ownership of the Company's stock.