Oxford Automotive, Inc. Sells Mexican Plant and Amends Credit Agreement

TROY, Mich., May 17, 2004 -- Oxford Automotive, Inc. announced today the closing of the sale of its manufacturing facility located in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico for approximately $40 million (including $3 million to be held in escrow). Pending investment of the net proceeds in capital assets, the company has applied the funds to reduce the amount currently outstanding under its revolving credit facility.

The company also announced the completion of an amendment to its revolving credit facility to modify certain financial covenants and pricing. The maximum availability of the amended credit facility continues to be $60 million, subject to reserves which may be established at the discretion of the lenders.

The company, together with its investment bankers, continues to pursue strategic options to further optimize the value of the company and to further increase liquidity, which may include a sale of some or all of its assets in North America and Europe.

About Oxford Automotive, Inc.

Oxford Automotive, Inc., with headquarters in Troy, Mich., is a leading Tier 1 supplier of specialized welded metal assemblies and related services. The company, which is privately held, currently has approximately 6,600 employees at 32 locations in nine countries, including technology centers in the United States, France and Germany. Annual sales in 2003 were approximately $1 billion.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes statements that constitute forward-looking statements, as that term is defined by the federal securities laws. These statements often include words such as "believe," "expect," "preliminary," estimate," "intend," "anticipate," "plan," "project" or other similar expressions. All forward-looking statement involve risk and uncertainties and there can be no assurances that actual results will not materially differ from expected results. You should not place undue reliance on these statements as they only speak as of the date of this press release. Risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements included in this press release include general economic conditions in the markets in which we operate, industry-based factors, and factors more specific to us such as: (1) the successful completion of our various strategic initiatives, (2) the results of our ongoing accounting review; (3) the impact of any accounting restatements on our financial results and our ability to complete our financial statements in a timely manner, or our ability to obtain adequate or advantageous financing or refinancing of existing debt; (4) our ability to comply with the covenants under our revolving credit facility or the successful negotiation of covenant waivers and adjustments to enable us to continue to draw on it; (5) the significant amount of our indebtedness and our ability to generate sufficient cash flow from operations to meet our liquidity needs; (6) uncertainty relating to our new program awards and our ability to successfully launch these new programs, especially the Mercedes M-Class and Grand Sports Tourer programs (7) our dependence on significant automotive customers; (8) our dependence on automotive industry conditions; (9) losses and costs associated with the winding down of our Canadian subsidiary; (10) the cyclical nature of the automotive industry; (11) instability in the global economy; (12) the risks associated with conducting business through our foreign subsidiaries, such as our ability to receive distributions from these foreign subsidiaries and foreign currency exchange fluctuations; (13) exposure to increased cost of purchased raw materials and components, such as steel; (14) our inability to reduce costs; labor costs and strikes at our major direct and indirect customers and at our facilities; (15) increased internal production by our automotive customers; (16) the level of competition in the automotive supply industry; (17) our inability to develop or implement new technologies; (18) our inability to successfully integrate acquired businesses; (19) our inability to meet future capital requirements and the impact of any accounting review and the related issues on efforts to fund these requirements; (20) our exposure to environmental liabilities; (21) our inability to sell receivables; (22) our dependence on key personnel; (23) unexpected interruptions at any of our manufacturing facilities due to equipment failures or delays in deliveries from vendors; and (24) our exposure to product liability and warranty claims.