Almana Motors and Ford Emphasize Safe Driving at Doha's Gulf Traffic Week

DOHA, Qatar, 11 March, 2014

Almana Motors Company, the Ford and Lincoln importer-dealer in Qatar, is putting greater emphasis on safe driving during the Unified GCC Traffic Week 2014 which successfully began in Doha on Sunday.

Under the theme "Your Safety is Our Goal", the programme on safe driving will run for a week featuring various activities that highlight the need for safe driving. Almana Motors, participating as gold sponsor, is showcasing safety technologies in Ford vehicles such as Explorer Sport, F-150 and F-150 SVT Raptor.

"We congratulate the Police Traffic Department in Doha for initiating this important activity, and commend Almana Motors for actively supporting it," said Kalyana Sivagnanam, Director, Ford Middle East & North Africa. "At Ford, we hold ourselves to very high standards for vehicle safety. Vehicle safety is a critical part of our brand promise to Go Further. We aim to give customers peace of mind and make the world safer by developing advanced safety technologies and making them available across our products."

For his part, Bill Hechmi, General Manager of Almana Motors Company, said: "Safety is an integral pillar of the Ford brand, and Ford Motor Company takes safety very seriously. And being part of the Ford family, Almana Motors shares the same principles towards being a responsible member of the local community where we serve our customers. We at Almana Motors are very proud to be part of this campaign and we look forward to present to our Qatar customers Ford vehicles that are forerunners in safety technologies."

During the event, the public can experience the safety technologies of Ford vehicles which include: award-winning MyKey® which allows limiting the vehicle's top speed and radio volume while encouraging usage of the seat belts, especially favourable for parents with teens behind the wheels; Inflatable rear seat belt, designed to protect rear-seat occupants; Curve Control Technology which senses when a driver is taking a curve too quickly and respond by rapidly reducing engine torque; AdvanceTrac with Roll Stability Control which comes with sensors to measure vehicle motion and automatically engage features that help driver maintain control of the vehicle and help reduce the risk of rollover; Blind Spot Information System (BLIS®) that uses two multiple-beam radar modules to warn a driver when it senses a vehicle has entered a blind spot; as well as lane keeping system and forward collision warning with brake support., .

The Unified GCC Traffic Week 2014 is being held at the Darb El Saai until March 15^th 2014. Activities during the week include: traffic exhibition, workshops, educational lectures, entertainment and contests related to traffic safety and a seminar 'Your Safety is Our Goal'.

Thanks to its numerous safety innovations, Ford has the most top U.S. safety ratings of any automaker ever. This includes more Top Safety Picks than any other manufacturer in the six years of IIHS testing and more NHTSA five-star ratings than any other manufacturer during 30 years of government testing.

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About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 180,000 employees and 65 plants worldwide, the company's automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information about Ford and its products worldwide please visit www.corporate.ford.com.

Ford's history in the Middle East goes back more than 60 years. The company's local importer-dealers operate more than 155 facilities in the region and directly employ more than 7,000 people, the majority of whom are Arab Nationals. For more information on Ford Middle East, please visit www.me.ford.com

Ford Middle East is also a responsible corporate citizen with currently three CSR initiatives running in the region including the Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants, Ford Warriors in Pink® breast cancer awareness campaign and Ford Driving Skills for Life safe driving awareness programme for young drivers and teens.

The Ford Grants is a grass-root level initiative that has offered US$1.3million in grants to more than 150 Middle Eastern environmental projects since 2000. Ford Warriors in Pink® is a breast cancer community-based awareness initiative recognising the strength and courage it takes to deal with the everyday challenges of battling breast cancer throughout the year. Ford Driving Skills for Life is a free programme designed to impart safe driving practices to students to help improve their road safety record.

Contacts:
Sue Nigoghossian
Ford Middle East Public Affairs

Chloe Martinez
ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller

Rasha Ghanem
ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller

971-4-3327767
971-4-4507600
971-4-450760

snigogho@ford.com
Chloe.Martinez@bm.com
rasha.ghanem@bm.com