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Lear Corporation, Piston Automotive Establish Joint Venture

14 April 2000

Lear Corporation, Piston Automotive Establish Joint Venture To Sequence Vehicle Parts for General Motors Corporation

    HIGHLAND PARK, Mich., April 14 Lear Corporation
(NYSE: LEA) today announced the creation of JL Automotive LLC, a joint venture
with Piston Automotive LLC, to sequence vehicle interior parts for General
Motors Corporation (GM) at a new assembly plant in Highland Park, Mich.,
(USA).
    The facility will handle the sequencing of door panels, sun visors and
headliners for vehicles built at GM facilities located in Hamtramck and Lake
Orion, Mich., and potentially for other GM facilities outside of the Detroit
area.  Start-up for the new plant is scheduled for later this month.
    "Lear's support of this joint venture demonstrates our continued
commitment to our customers and our role as a leader in minority partner
alliances," said Jim Comer, President - North American Joint Venture
Operations for Lear Corporation.  "Lear purchased in excess of $200 million in
products and services from minority sources last year, more than any other
supplier, and we've set a goal to reach $600 million by 2005."
    Piston Automotive, currently headquartered in Detroit, was launched in
1996 by former Detroit Piston basketball player, Vinnie Johnson.  The 146,000
square-foot facility will initially employ 158 people and add another 123
workers over the next two years as the work expands.
    "This new assembly plant is a great boost for Piston Automotive and the
city of Highland Park," said Vinnie Johnson, President of Piston Automotive.
"I am excited about this partnership with Lear and the new job opportunities
it will bring to this area."
    "This partnership is another example of General Motors' continued
leadership in the support of joint ventures that strengthen minority supplier
participation in the automotive industry," said J. David Allen, Director,
Supplier Diversity Group, General Motors Corporation.
    Lear Corporation, a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Southfield,
Mich., is one of the world's largest automotive suppliers with 1999 sales of
$12.4 billion.  The company's world-class products are designed, engineered
and manufactured by more than 120,000 employees in over 300 facilities located
in 33 countries.  Information about Lear and its products is available on the
Internet at http://www.lear.com