HARMAN Extends Car Audio Business with smart® Car Deal

KARLSBAD, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- HARMAN, the leading global audio and infotainment group (NYSE:HAR - News), will provide car manufacturer Daimler in-vehicle audio systems for its smart car group beginning in fiscal year 2014.

This is the first time HARMAN will be providing Premium Sound Systems for smart cars. The smart vehicles will be available with a customized JBL Sound System.

“There is a great fit between our brand JBL and smart,” said Dinesh Paliwal, HARMAN’s Chairman, President and CEO. “They both appeal to young, urban professionals who appreciate an individual and uncompromising lifestyle – HARMAN´s JBL Sound system provides powerful sound to the smart car for these customers worldwide. We are very pleased to extend our existing partnership with Daimler further with this new audio award.”

HARMAN´s expertise as the leading automotive audio-supplier provides the company with the skills to master the technical challenge to realize big sound in an unconventionally sized car.

HARMAN is the leading supplier of premium audio solutions to the world’s leading automotive OEMs. Each HARMAN audio system is customized and acoustically tuned for the respective car model, and combines innovative technologies for amplifiers, speakers, and subwoofers to create unsurpassed surround sound quality. Automakers trust HARMAN’s expertise and knowledge in all aspects of music recording and playback to provide professional-grade solutions that enhance the driving and listening experience. HARMAN’s JBL brand is known for its design of audio equipment for consumers, the entertainment industry and the automotive industry. The JBL brand takes its decades of experience making speakers and other equipment for concert halls and other public venues, and uses it to create audio equipment for consumers around the world.

About HARMAN

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson. The company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 20 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 12,500 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported sales of $4.0 billion for the 12 months ended September 30, 2011. The company’s shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE: HAR.

© 2012 HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson are trademarks of HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated, registered in the United States and/or other countries. AKG is a trademark of AKG Acoustics GmbH, registered in the United States and/or other countries. Features, specifications and appearance are subject to change without notice.

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