American Axle & Manufacturing Announces Construction of a New Manufacturing Facility in China

DETROIT, Jan. 12, 2006 -- American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (AAM), which is traded as AXL on the NYSE, today announced that it will establish a manufacturing facility in Changshu, China, near Shanghai. AAM has acquired land-use rights for approximately 30 acres in an industrial park in the Changshu city for the construction a 175,000 square-foot, state- of-the-art, wholly owned manufacturing plant for its highly engineered driveline systems.

It is anticipated that the groundbreaking for this facility will occur in the spring of 2006 and preliminary production builds are planned for late 2006. William A. Smith has been appointed launch manager to oversee construction, build the organization, and be responsible for the future operation of the facility.

The city of Changshu features one of the 10 largest ports in China. Its location will provide excellent geographic access to all vehicle manufacturers throughout Asia.

"We are extremely pleased to announce the expansion of AAM's global manufacturing footprint," says AAM Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO Richard E. Dauch. "China and the continent of Asia represent a rapidly growing market with significant opportunities for AAM's state-of-the-art high technology products. We are expanding in Asia to provide products to our customers in that region, while at the same time continuing to profitably grow our North American and European market share."

AAM is a world leader in the manufacture, engineering, design and validation of driveline systems and related components and modules, chassis systems and forged products for light trucks, sport utility vehicles and passenger cars. In addition to its locations in the United States (in Michigan, New York and Ohio), AAM also has offices or facilities in Brazil, China, England, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Scotland and South Korea.