Ward's Reports Estimated North American Vehicle Production

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Sept. 12 -- Vehicle production this week in the U.S., Canada and Mexico is expected to hit an estimated 354,218 units, up 20.3 percent from the 294,562 cars and trucks built last week, according to Ward's Automotive Reports.

Including this week's estimates, calendar year North American output now totals 11,462,413 vehicles, down 3.9 percent from like-2002's pace.

In the U.S., automakers are expected to produce 264,674 vehicles this week, up 21.4 percent from the 217,994 cars and trucks built last week. To date, calendar 2003 U.S. vehicle output totals an estimated 8,439,806 units, down 3.3 percent from the 8,729,170 vehicles built in like-2002.

This week's Canadian vehicle production is estimated at 55,779, a 33.4 percent increase from the 41,819 units assembled last week. Estimated calendar-2003 Canadian vehicle production now stands at 1,809,464 units, down 5.0 percent compared to the 1,903,871 vehicles produced in like-2002.

Of the cars and trucks slated for production this week in the U.S., General Motors Corp. accounted for 33.8 percent; Ford Motor Co., 24.2 percent; Chrysler of DaimlerChrysler, 15.0 percent; Honda of America Mfg. Inc., 6.4 percent; Toyota Motor Mfg. Inc., 5.9 percent; Nissan Motor Mfg. Corp., 4.5 percent; New United Motor Mfg. Inc., 3.3 percent; BMW of North America Inc., 1.3 percent; Mitsubishi Motor Mfg. of America Inc., 1.6 percent; AutoAlliance International Inc., 0.9 percent; Subaru Automotive Inc., 0.8 percent; Mercedes-Benz U.S. of DaimlerChrysler, 0.7 percent; and other manufacturers, 1.6 percent.

                     NORTH AMERICA FACTORY PRODUCTION
         This Week   Last Week   Same Week   To Date   To Date   Pct. Change
         Estimated    Revised    Last Year    2003       2002  2003 vs. 2002
  U.S.
  Cars    100,262     82,426     96,765    3,189,719    3,644,816    -12.5
  Trucks  164,412    135,568    162,488    5,250,087    5,084,354      3.3
  TOTAL   264,674    217,994    259,253    8,439,806    8,729,170     -3.3
  Canada
  Cars     27,498     21,418     26,114      977,948      979,591     -0.2
  Trucks   28,281     20,401     27,868      831,516      924,280    -10.0
  TOTAL    55,779     41,819     53,982    1,809,464    1,903,871     -5.0
  Mexico
  Cars     16,735     15,246     19,939      619,713      703,896    -12.0
  Trucks   17,030     19,503     18,625      593,430      594,229     -0.1
  TOTAL    33,765     34,749     38,564    1,213,143    1,298,125     -6.5
  U.S.\Canada\Mexico
  Cars    144,495    119,090    142,818    4,787,380    5,328,303    -10.2
  Trucks  209,723    175,472    208,981    6,675,033    6,602,863      1.1
  GRAND   354,218    294,562    351,799   11,462,413   11,931,166     -3.9
  TOTAL

  Note: All figures include medium- and heavy-duty truck production.

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