January 19, 2009

(MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA) - In a ceremony attended by Governor of Alabama Robert Riley and around 300 guests, Hybrid Kinetic Motors ("HK Motors"), a US carmaker, and Italdesign Giugiaro, an Italian company, have sealed a cooperation agreement for the styling and engineering of a family of hybrid vehicles that will be produced at a new plant in Baldwin County, Alabama, with the start of production scheduled in 2013.

The agreement with Italdesign Giugiaro follows those signed earlier by HK Motors with world leading suppliers for development of engine, power train and hybrid systems.

Italdesign Giugiaro will be responsible for styling, engineering, testing, prototyping and production support of the family of HK Motors vehicles and will coordinate all the suppliers involved.

"We have chosen Italdesign Giugiaro in view of its more than four decades' expertise in the field of integrated services to the automotive industry, from styling research and engineering to production start-up through prototyping and testing. Cooperation between the group founded by Giorgetto Giugiaro and the HK Motors Chairman Benjamin Yeung dates backs to the 1990s when the former designed and developed the Zhonghua sedan for Brilliance Group of which Yeung was chairman and CEO. The Brilliance Zhonghua sedan heralds China's indigenous sedan manufacture. Today indigenous brands account for over 40% of the country's fast growing sedan market",  HK Motors Vice Chairman Charles Huang explained.

"We are very interested in measuring up to the challenge proposed by HK Motors", declared Giorgetto Giugiaro, Chairman of Italdesign Giugiaro. "In our 43 years of business, in addition to providing design and engineering services to a large number of auto-makers worldwide, we have assumed the equally important role of global consulting for start-up companies that, over the years, have made their debuts on the automotive scene. Italdesign Giugiaro’s very first commitment was the Alfa Romeo family of vehicles and Alfasud plant development; it assisted South Korea's Hyundai in the development of its own vehicle range starting from the first generation of Pony in the early 1970s; it contributed to the Bugatti's rebirth in the 1990s; up to the new millennium with the Brilliance Zhonghua sedan for the burgeoning Chinese market.  All our expertise can be replied upon for HK Motors to pursue its progressive global strategy and become a major manufacturer of hybrid vehicles".

"This project with HK Motors will stretch over the next four years", continues Enzo Pacella, Italdesign Giugiaro's CEO, "and provides us with the opportunity to take advantage of major experiences acquired in Europe and worldwide as project integrators and coordinators of other suppliers. The challenge HK Motors decides to commit us is to join and integrate the major cooperation agreements we currently have undertaken with historical customers in Europe and the Far East. We are going to fulfill this commitment with our usual enthusiasm and professional approach".

The HK Motors development plan envisages the mass production of ten hybrid vehicles, including three medium to large sedans, a taxi, an SUV, a CUV, an MPV, a van, two high and medium range commercial vehicles to put onto the market in 2013. CT Wang, CEO of HK Motors, said that "the company continues to work on its plans for the commercial vehicles in addition to the eight vehicles covered by the current agreement with Italdesign Giugiaro".

The ceremony wound up with the first North American premiere of the Quaranta (Forty) - concept car developed by Italdesign Giugiaro to mark the Italian company's 40th anniversary. "The Quaranta is a 156mph supercar powered by a hybrid system and represents the state of the art of many years' research into hybrid vehicles including the Biga and Lucciola in 1992, the Alessandro Volta in 2004 and the Namir in 2009", explained Fabrizio Giugiaro, Co-Chairman and Styling Director of Italdesign Giugiaro. “The Quaranta is shown here today because it demonstrates Italdesign Giugiaro’s styling philosophy and advanced engineering capability that will be applied to HK Motors’ lineup of vehicles” added CT Wang, CEO of HK Motors.

Hi-res pictures and PDF version of the press kit are available at: http://www.mypublicstrategy.com/hk.

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