Joint venture to make sensors in China

April 14, 2005 — China Automotive Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:CAAS) of Hubei Province, China, announced it signed a joint venture agreement with Sensor System Solutions Inc. (OTCBB:SSYO) of Irvine, Calif., to produce sensors for the automotive market.

The joint venture will operate under the name Universal Sensor Application Inc. and intends to commence production by August 2005. It will be based in Hubei Province of the People’s Republic of China. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

China Automotive Systems and Sensor System Solutions, formerly Advanced Custom Sensors, signed a letter of intent last year to establish the joint venture. China Automotive Systems supplies power steering components and systems to the Chinese automotive industry. Sensor System Solutions develops and markets MEMS and thin film sensors. The joint venture will initially focus on providing sensors to automotive manufacturers in China.

“We anticipate the joint venture will have an initial annual output of 4.5 million sensors, with estimated net sales of approximately $40 million,” said Hanlin Chen, chief executive officer of China Automotive Systems, in a prepared statement.

“Sensors are becoming increasingly important components of electronic control systems of vehicles. In addition, with China expected to become the second largest automotive market in the world by 2010, demand for this technology should be significant.”

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