Ford Fusion Hybrid and Ford Transit Connect Named 2010 North American Car of the Year and Truck of the Year, Respectively

Ford Fusion Lineup Named the 2010 Motor Trend Car of the Year

PLANO, Texas — (BUSINESS WIRE) — February 3, 2010 — Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of the Siemens Industry Automation Division and a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services, today announced that its software solutions have been used as important enablers in the development of the award-winning Ford Motor Company vehicles.

The Ford Fusion™ Hybrid and Ford Transit Connect™ were named 2010 North American Car of the Year and Truck of the Year, respectively. This was only the third time in 17 years that one automaker has won both awards. This is the second consecutive year that Ford has won the Truck of the Year award; the Ford F-150 won the 2009 North American Truck of the Year award.

Separately, the entire Ford Fusion lineup captured the acclaimed MOTOR TREND® Car of the Year award for 2010.

“Siemens PLM Software is proud to be a key partner in delivering PLM solutions that support Ford Motor Company’s delivery of outstanding vehicles and congratulates Ford on its award-winning car and truck of the year,” said Chuck Grindstaff, executive vice president, Products and Chief Technology Officer, Siemens PLM Software. “The automotive industry understands the need to streamline product development and create efficiencies across entire organizations, and leading OEMs like Ford are increasingly relying on PLM software to bring quality, efficient vehicles to market in a timely manner.”

As a leading provider of PLM software and services for the automotive and transportation industry, Siemens PLM Software is a mission-critical partner for Ford Motor Company, providing PLM solutions to enable key business process improvement initiatives. Ford utilizes Siemens PLM Software’s technology for product development, product data management and digital manufacturing.

Siemens PLM Software’s PLM portfolio, serves as Ford’s global engineering collaboration backbone, enabling cross discipline collaboration between engineering, design, manufacturing and serviceability teams.

Siemens PLM Software provides solutions that are used on all Ford vehicle programs around the world, enabling critical process like:

• Enterprise-wide visualization and digital prototyping, which allow designs to be optimized in the virtual environment
• Digital manufacturing solutions provide global manufacturing planning capabilities which enhance efficiency and quality
• Software Management which enables effective distribution of embedded vehicle software to plants and service centers

From early portfolio planning through product development, manufacturing and product obsolescence, Siemens PLM Software has set the standard for PLM technology in the automotive and transportation industry.

In 2009, Siemens PLM Software technology was used for the design of the Motor Trend Car and Truck of the Year award winners. Over the past ten years, Siemens PLM Software solutions for design, analysis, product data management or digital manufacturing have been utilized by more than 80 percent of the award-winning vehicles recognized by Motor Trend in the categories of Car of the Year, Truck of the Year or Sport/Utility of the Year.

Siemens PLM Software’s industry leading technology is used by automakers and suppliers to plan, evaluate and coordinate the development and manufacturing engineering of vehicles. Siemens PLM Software satisfies the mission critical needs of leading automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for managed collaboration across complex engineering functions and throughout the extended supply chain. By breaking down barriers between engineering functions, providing real-time access to information, and performing analysis and simulation, Siemens PLM Software has delivered double-digit efficiency improvements.

Siemens PLM Software is used extensively in the automotive industry. Of the 68 million vehicles produced in 2008 by the top 50 global OEMs, Siemens PLM Software was used on more than 64 million. Additionally, of the 16 OEMs producing over 1 million vehicles a year, 15 of them use Siemens PLM Software technology. And overall, of the top 30 OEMs, 26 use Siemens PLM Software’s technology in the development and manufacturing of their vehicles – more than any of Siemens PLM Software’s competitors.

About North American Car and Truck of the Year Awards

The North American Car and Truck awards are designed to recognize the most outstanding vehicles of the year based on factors that include innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar. The awards are unique because -- instead of being given by a single media outlet -- they are given by automotive journalists from the United States and Canada who represent magazines, television, radio, newspapers and web sites.

About Motor Trend Car of the Year Award

The editorial staff at Motor Trend magazine conduct extensive off-road, street and track testing, and evaluate driving performance, safety and features to determine the annual Motor Trend Car of the Year award winner. The honoree represents the vehicle that best exemplifies exceptional value, superiority in its class and most significant development on the new-car scene.