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BorgWarner Announces Joint Venture with 12 Chinese OEMs to Produce Dual Clutch Transmission Modules

Posted on: Wednesday, 14 January 2009, 06:00 CST

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Jan. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BorgWarner (NYSE: BWA) is pleased to announce that it has signed a contract to establish a joint venture with China Automobile Development United Investment Co., Ltd. (CDUI), a company owned by 12 leading Chinese automakers including FAW, SAIC, Dongfeng, Chery, ChangAn, Brilliance, Guangzhu, Changfeng, JAC, Geely, Polarsun and Great Wall Motor. Known as BorgWarner United Transmission Systems Co., Ltd., the joint venture will be located in Dalian, China, and will produce various dual clutch transmission modules beginning in 2011. BorgWarner holds a 66% majority ownership in the joint venture.

"By leading the dual clutch transmission expansion into the Chinese marketplace, this joint venture will establish BorgWarner's DualTronic(R) technology as the preferred automatic transmission solution in China," said Tim Manganello, BorgWarner Chairman and CEO. "BorgWarner is honored to join CDUI and its 12 Chinese OEM partners in bringing the benefits of DualTronic(R) technology -- improved fuel economy, lower emissions and a dynamic yet comfortable driving experience -- to the growing automatic transmission market in China."

Since BorgWarner's DualTronic(R) technology is based on a manual transmission architecture, it is especially attractive in China, where OEMs have a solid manual transmission infrastructure. The joint venture will allow Chinese OEMs to make the technological leap to world-leading dual clutch transmissions quickly and cost effectively. BorgWarner's modular DualTronic(R) technology can be tuned to meet the full range of vehicles manufactured by its Chinese OEM partners.

A leader in the globalization of dual-clutch transmission technology for over ten years, BorgWarner's family of DualTronic(R) technologies combines the efficiency of a manual gearbox with the functionality of a fully automatic transmission, delivering seamless powerflow, improved fuel efficiency and a fun-to-drive experience. Customers include VW, Audi, Bugatti, SAIC, Nissan and GETRAG PowerShift(R) dual-clutch transmission programs supporting global automakers including BMW, Ford and Mitsubishi. In addition, BorgWarner is currently working on over 25 programs with transmission and vehicle makers around the world and expects applications of its dual-clutch technology to expand four-fold to 3 million dual-clutch transmissions by 2014.

Auburn Hills, Michigan-based BorgWarner Inc. (NYSE: BWA) is a product leader in highly engineered components and systems for vehicle powertrain applications worldwide. The FORTUNE 500 company operates manufacturing and technical facilities in 64 locations in 17 countries. Customers include VW/Audi, Ford, Toyota, Renault/Nissan, General Motors, Hyundai/Kia, Daimler, Chrysler, Fiat, BMW, Honda, John Deere, PSA, and MAN. The Internet address for BorgWarner is: http://www.borgwarner.com.

Statements contained in this news release may contain forward-looking statements as contemplated by the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act that are based on management's current expectations, estimates and projections. Words such as "outlook", "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond our control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed, projected or implied in or by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include: fluctuations in domestic or foreign vehicle production, the continued use of outside suppliers, fluctuations in demand for vehicles containing our products, changes in general economic conditions, and other risks detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Risk Factors, identified in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K. We do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

SOURCE BorgWarner Inc.

Source: PR Newswire

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