---

Lear Corporation Wins Total Interior Contract

17 July 1998

Lear Corporation Wins Total Interior Contract

    SOUTHFIELD, Mich., July 17 --  Lear Corporation
has been awarded two major contracts by Indian vehicle producer Mahindra and
Mahindra.  One contract  is for the total interior design, engineering, and
manufacturing to support a new sport utility vehicle developed by Mahindra and
Mahindra which will debut in 2001.  The second contract is for seating systems
to support all current Mahindra and Mahindra products.
    "The contracts with Mahindra and Mahindra will expand both our
design/engineering capability and production base in India," said Randall
Carron, president of Lear's Asia-Pacific Operations.  "We're very pleased to
have been selected to design, engineer and manufacture the total interior for
Mahindra's new sport utility vehicle."
    Lear will establish an engineering center in Bombay to support the
interior design program.  The center will be connected electronically to
Lear's network of global engineering centers and, in addition to Mahindra,
will support Lear's other customers in India.
    "We will design seat systems, door panels, headliners, floor and acoustic
systems and instrument panels for the new vehicle," Carron said "and we'll be
working closely with Mahindra product and manufacturing engineers on this
program."
    Anticipated annual volumes for the new sport utility are initially
projected at 50,000 units.
    Lear is in the process of preparing two plants to support Mahindra's
current seat build requirements.  These two facilities, located in Nashik and
Bombay respectively, will be capable of producing 125,000 seat sets annually.
About 200 people are expected to be employed at the two facilities.
Production will begin in the fourth quarter of 1998.
    A Fortune 500 Company, Lear Corporation is one of the world's largest
automotive suppliers, with 1997 sales of $7.3 billion.  The company's world-
class products are designed, engineered and manufactured by more than 54,000
employees in over 190 facilities located in 28 countries.  Information about
Lear and its products is available on the Internet at http://www.lear.com.