Sweden Hosts Telematics & Intelligent Vehicle Safety Conference; Industry's Future Vision Shared by Telematics Leaders

GOTEBORG, Sweden--Oct. 5, 2004--Sweden, long recognized as a leader in automotive safety and home to one of the world's largest telematics clusters, is hosting the third annual Telematics Valley Conference. This year's attendees will include groups from the commercial vehicle industry, the telematics industry, and various end users, who will learn the latest market analysis of the telematics industry as well and hear discussions about new technologies, implementations, fleet management, services, public safety and security and how these trends are changing in the future. The conference is hosted by the Telematics Valley organization, with prominent speaking roles from executives at company sponsors IBM, SCANIA, Volvo Trucks, and others. More information can be found at www.telematicsvalley.org.

"Sweden's Telematics Valley region has attracted top companies from around the world for its innovation, leadership, and competence in telematics and wireless communications," stated Goran Eriksson, director of Invest in Sweden Agency, Los Angeles Branch Office. "Lindholmen Science Park has become the focal point for one of the world's leading telematics clusters, and provides a unique climate and resource for collaboration and automotive and telematics-related business development opportunities."

Prominent Speakers at Telematics Valley Conference 2004

-- Leif Pagrotsky, Minister for Industry and Trade, Sweden

-- Hasse Johansson, Group VP SCANIA Research and Development, Sweden

-- Per Adamsson, Telematics Services Manager, Volvo Truck Corp., Sweden

-- Phil Magney, CEO and Principal Analyst Telematics Research Group, USA

-- Karl Ahmed, CEO and Head of Telematics Wyless Pic. UK

-- Erich Nickel, Director of Global Telematics Solutions IBM, Germany

Sweden's Telematics History and Strong Cluster Environment

Although the actual term telematics is relatively new to the vehicle industry, the Goteborg region has been a leader in developing and growing technological opportunities in mobile data for vehicles for over two decades. Telematics Valley, a geographical region bordered by the cities of Boras, Goteborg, Uddevalla, and Trollhattan, was established to promote western Sweden as the center of the telematics industry.

New $400M Telematics Science Park

The Lindholmen Science Park has become the heart of Sweden's Telematics Valley region, focusing on stimulating growth of hi-tech, knowledge-intensive, research-based companies. The park is built on the premise of cooperation between universities, trade and industry, and the community. The park plans to employ more than 20,000 people and is positioning and profiling itself in the fields of mobile data communications, intelligent vehicles and transport systems, and media and design. These areas comprise the primary areas of activity of cluster members and the common points of contact. The primary players in the park include Volvo Car Corp., Business Region Goteborg, Ericsson, and Chalmers University of Technology, which was recently chosen to design and execute the Global Active and Passive Safety course for General Motors engineers.

Telematics Valley -- the Organization

Founded in 2001, the Telematics Valley organization was created to support collaboration and communication between leaders in the telematics community to promote and facilitate in the development of telematics solutions for the entire vehicle industry. Currently consisting of more than 60 member companies and 11 partner organizations. This is the third year in which the Telematics Valley organization has hosted the conference.

About Invest in Sweden Agency

Invest in Sweden Agency was established by the Swedish government to help attract and facilitate foreign direct investment in Sweden -- Europe's leading IT cluster and a world leader in wireless and mobile Internet. Sweden provides a strong industrial base, sophisticated multinational customers, active utilization of information technology in both the public and private sectors, an advanced infrastructure, and a highly skilled workforce.

ISA assists companies interested in locating manufacturing sites, research and development facilities, sales offices, and customer interaction centers in Sweden by providing free site selection information and other business-related services. ISA is headquartered in Stockholm, with offices in New York, London, Shanghai and Tokyo, a branch office in Los Angeles, and representatives in major European, North American, and Asian cities. For more information, visit the agency's Web site at www.isa.se or call the LA office at 310-204-6790 or the NY office at 212-702-8780. Questions can be sent via e-mail to isa@usa.isa.se.