XM Satellite Radio Signs Sanyo to Produce Factory-Installed Car Radios

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 -- XM Satellite Radio has signed an agreement with Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. to design, develop, produce and market XM radios for factory installation into new cars, Dan Murphy, XM's Vice President for Retail Marketing and Distribution, announced today.
"We are delighted that Sanyo, an electronics leader, will develop XM radios for the new car market," Murphy said. "We look forward to working with this industry leader as we build the next generation of radio." Sanyo Electric Co., LTD. manufactures a broad range of electronic items including video equipment, audio equipment, home appliances, industrial and commercial equipment, information systems, batteries and air-conditioning equipment.

XM will transform radio, an industry that has seen little technological change since FM, almost 40 years ago. XM will create and package up to 100 channels of digital-quality sound and provide coast-to-coast coverage of music, news, sports, talk, comedy and children's programming. XM won several awards at the International Consumer Electronics Show in January, including "Best of CES" in the automotive category.

XM's strategic investors include America's leading car, radio and satellite TV companies -- General Motors, American Honda Motor Co. Inc., Clear Channel Communications, DIRECTV and Motient Corporation (Nasdaq: MTNT), the company's largest shareholder. XM has a long-term distribution agreement with General Motors to integrate XM-ready radios into its vehicles commencing in 2001. XM-ready radios will be manufactured by such household names as Sony, Alpine, Pioneer, Clarion, Blaupunkt, Delphi-Delco, Visteon and Panasonic, in addition to Sanyo, and sold by automotive and retail outlets such as Best Buy, Circuit City and Sears. Broadcast service is slated to begin this summer. For more information, please visit http://www.xmradio.com .

SOURCE XM Satellite Radio

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