Ford's Drive for Prominence in Growing CUV Market Buoyed By Delphi

Responsibility on Pair of Recently Debuted Crossover Vehicles Illustrates Automaker's Confidence in Delphi's Systems 'Life-Cycle' Value

WARREN, Ohio, March 23 -- Delphi Corporation is helping Ford Motor Company's highly charged pursuit of the white-hot crossover vehicle segment in North America by providing full-vehicle electrical/electronic (E/E) systems support for a pair of recently debuted vehicles.

Ford used January's North American International Auto Show as the stage to officially introduce the 2007 Edge crossover utility vehicle (CUV), the latest offering in the automaker's portfolio reflecting its emerging American design direction. Ford also pulled the wraps off the Edge's luxury market platform mate, the Lincoln MKX, another boldly-styled all-wheel drive CUV offered as a 2007 model-year vehicle.

Delphi is responsible for the E/E technology in both vehicles, and will assemble their related systems and components as part of a business package that offers a clear example of the supplier's strengthening relationship with Ford.

"We are very excited and encouraged by this opportunity to extend our growing relationship with Ford, and that they continue to demonstrate their trust in Delphi with critical vehicle programs. We feel that confidence is born from Ford's full recognition of what we bring to their business, the tremendous value that comes from our comprehensive technical resources and our unparalleled ability to fully optimize vehicle systems through architecture capability that's been fully demonstrated to the customer," said Douglas R. Gruber, Delphi Packard Electric E/EDS business line executive.

"Delphi's E/E competencies run throughout the life cycle of the program -- from the up-front architecture design and systems integration activities with Ford to comprehensive support and flawless launch execution," Gruber continued. "It is with that eye towards complete support that we eagerly look to this critical program and our opportunity to contribute to the success of a launch that our customer views as a major statement to the industry, doing so with products destined to differentiate Ford from the rest of the field."

Widely viewed as a segment with greater growth prospects than sport- utility vehicles, the North American CUV market continues its meteoric rise, with close to three dozen nameplates available to consumers (through 2007 MY applications) -- a nearly three-fold increase over the CUV menu at the beginning of the decade. Ford's contemporary design along with innovative features and performance attributes in line with CUV shoppers' heightened expectations characterize the Edge and MKX, both of which are fueling the automaker's drive for CUV leadership.

Delphi will play a role in that quest for CUV leadership by delivering E/E systems technology fully optimized in the vehicles' architecture to meet both of their unique requirements, working with Ford early in the development phase to ensure comprehensive attention to vehicle needs. The supplier is blending vehicle-specific technical advancements, such as a unique performance approach in the vehicle's custom-designed electrical center, with customer-valued architecture features already proven in existing Delphi-supported programs.

Delphi's technical expertise first debuted on a Ford North American program with the redesigned Ford Freestar minivan (and Mercury Monterey sibling), the company's first opportunity to provide full-vehicle E/E architecture design and manufacture responsibility for the customer in the region. That was quickly followed by the 2005 Ford Mustang, for which Delphi also has design-and-build responsibility.

"Those programs have afforded us numerous opportunities to demonstrate technical leadership and differentiating capabilities, which not only have helped bring value to those launches but have strengthened Ford's bottom-line prospects across other lines," said Nick Cassudakis, director of North American engineering at Delphi Packard. He noted as one example Delphi's role in assisting Ford's development of a new global crimp standard (applying a terminal/connector to a wire). Primarily based on Delphi's longtime design expertise and crimping process capability, the new standard is expected to drive improved warranty performance.

With the Edge and MKX, Delphi will be providing wiring harnesses for eight North American-produced Ford Motor Co. vehicles.

For more information about Delphi Corporation , visit http://www.delphi.com/ .