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Hyundai Telecom and Hyundai Autonet Partner With Echelon To Offer Smart Products For the Home

Hyundai Announces Plans To Equip Thousands of Homes Per Year with LonWorks� Products

(ORLANDO, Fla. - October 17, 2000) - Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ: ELON), Hyundai Telecom, and Hyundai Autonet Co., Ltd. today signed a Strategic Alliance agreement to develop and promote products and services for the home networking market with Echelon's LonWorks� technology. Under the agreement Hyundai, with assistance from Echelon, will develop a complete LonWorks based home networking system including a residential gateway, home appliances, boiler controls, smart door locks, sensors, sub-metering, elevators for apartment buildings, lighting, and security components bringing new comfort, convenience, service, and security to Korean home owners. The first products from Hyundai will be shown on the exhibition floor of this week's LONWORLD2000T Conference and Exhibition (to be held Wednesday the 18th and Thursday the 19th at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando).

The agreement was signed at the LONWORLD2000 site by Ken Oshman, chairman, president and CEO of Echelon Corporation; Mr. Nae Heun Lee, Chairman of Hyundai Telecom and former president of Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd.; and Mr. Jang Jin Yoon, president of Hyundai Autonet Co., Ltd. (a fully-owned subsidiary of Hyundai Electronics Industries Co. Ltd.).

"With more than 30 years of experience supplying home automation solutions in Korea, both Hyundai Autonet and Hyundai Telecom are pleased to announce today our commitment to LonWorks technology in the home networking market," said Mr. Yoon. "After careful study, it is clear to us that the LonWorks platform is the only open, worldwide standard that meets both our technical and business needs. We anticipate putting 10 to 15 LonWorks devices per home in our typical system. And as a leader in the Korean home automation market - with over 100,000 home automation systems installed in newly constructed homes each year - we intend to not only develop a complete LonWorks home networking solution but also to aggressively introduce it into the market."

"We are very pleased to announce today's agreement with Hyundai, one of the leading and most respected electronics and construction companies in Korea and in the world," said Mr. Oshman. "Through its action today, Hyundai is positioning itself to be one of the leaders in the Digital Home� age and joins the growing number of leading service providers and device manufacturers around the world offering products and services based on the LonWorks system. Together these companies are extending the reach of the Internet into our daily lives, creating new business opportunities for service providers while delivering new comforts, conveniences, and cost savings to consumers."

Korea is one of the world's leading adopters of network technologies. Today there are nearly ten million Koreans online, compared to only 1.6 million in 1997, and that number is expected to reach 20 million - about half the population - sometime toward the end of 2001. Mobile-phone subscribers outnumber fixed-line subscribers. Almost 50% of the nation's stock trades are placed on-line, the highest percentage in the world. Korea also has the world's fastest-growing market for high-speed broadband Internet access, with two million subscribers expected by the end of this year and five million by 2002.

About Echelon Corporation
Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ: ELON) is the world leader in networking everyday devices. The company offers a comprehensive line of hardware and software products for automating building, home, industrial, transportation, and utility applications using LonWorks® networks, an international, cross-industry, open standard for interoperable device networks. Echelon is Bringing the Internet to Life™ by linking the millions of everyday devices connected with LonWorks networks to the Internet.

Echelon is based in Sunnyvale, California with international offices in China, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Further information can be found at http://www.echelon.com.

Echelon's LONWORLD2000™ Conference and Exhibition is designed to help end-users, integrators, service providers, and manufacturers learn how to use the LonWorks system in their business. The conference will take place on October 18-19 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida and features a series of forums, classes and presentations along with an exhibition of products and services covering the home/utility, building, industrial, and transportation markets. Enel will deliver a keynote address at the conference. Sponsorship, registration and exhibition information about LONWORLD2000 can be found at http://www.lonworld2000.com/.

About Hyundai Autonet Co. Ltd.
Hyundai Autonet was founded in April 2000 with 1,050 employees as a subsidiary of the Hyundai Group, one of Korea's largest conglomerate companies. One of Hyundai Autonet's main businesses is system integration, research and development, and manufacturing based on LonWorks technology. Its major customers include Hyundai Business Group, established in 1947 and composed of 30 subsidiaries in many business areas including ship building & industrial plants, automobile, engineering & construction, machinery, iron & steels, petrochemicals & oil refinery, financing, trading and service sectors as well as cutting-edge industries such as electronics, aerospace, telecommunication, information technology. Another main business of Hyundai Autonet is manufacturing of automotive electronics products such as car audio, navigation, MP3 and other advanced automotive products. With annual sales of 1.5 million units, other major customers include Hyundai/Kia Motor Company and other automakers. In the U.S. market, Hyundai Autonet manufactures over 400,000 car audio systems each year for aftermarket sales and factory installation. News and information is available at http://www.hyundaiautonet.co.kr and http://www.hyundai.net.

About Hyundai Telecommunication Industries Co., Ltd.
Hyundai Telecommunication Industries Co., Ltd. (HTI) is a leading company in the home automation and closed circuit television (CCTV) fields in Korea. Active in the home automation market for over 10 years, HTI reached more than 50% of market share in Korea this year. In 1998 it expanded its business in CCTV and has achieved remarkable growth in this segment. HTI has lined up whole security products for total security solutions and made investments to develop advanced products such as digital video recording systems and intelligent home systems to meet customers' needs in the digital era. Based on technical excellence, distinguished competitiveness and reliability, it has successfully expanded into overseas markets. Now, it provides high-performance products to more than 70 distributors in over 40 countries. HTI will continue to devote itself to focusing on customer satisfaction and enhancing its reputation in the worldwide market. More information is available on-line at http://www.hyundaihomepia.com/english/.

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Echelon, LonWorks, Digital Home, LonMark�, the LonMark logo, and the Echelon logo are trademarks of Echelon Corporation registered in the United States and other countries. LonWorld2000 and Bringing the Internet to Life are trademarks of Echelon Corporation. Other marks belong to their respective holders.

This press release may contain statements relating to future plans, events or performance. Such statements may involve risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with uncertainties pertaining to the timing and level of customer orders, demand for products and services, development of markets for Echelon's products and services, development of the market for smart products, and technical risks associated with product development of low cost, high volume products, and other risks identified in Echelon's SEC filings. Actual results, events and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Echelon undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Contact Information

Press Contacts:

 

Lyn Balistreri
Echelon Corporation
(408) 938-5202
lbalistreri@echelon.com

In Sung Kim
Hyundai
82-31-639-6674
kiss@hei.co.kr

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