Ward's Reports Estimated North American Vehicle Production - September 19, 2003

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Sept. 19 -- Vehicle production this week in the U.S., Canada and Mexico is expected to hit an estimated 341,829 units, down 2.8 percent from the 351,518 cars and trucks built last week, according to Ward's Automotive Reports.

Including this week's estimates, calendar year North American output now totals 11,799,118 vehicles, down 3.9 percent from like-2002's pace.

In the U.S., automakers are expected to produce 257,786 vehicles this week, down 2.9 percent from the 265,597 cars and trucks built last week. To date, calendar 2003 U.S. vehicle output totals an estimated 8,698,515 units, down 3.2 percent from the 8,990,122 vehicles built in like-2002.

This week's Canadian vehicle production is estimated at 56,469, an 8.9 percent increase from the 51,846 units assembled last week. Estimated calendar-2003 Canadian vehicle production now stands at 1,860,754 units, down 5.0 percent compared to the 1,957,700 vehicles produced in like-2002.

Of the cars and trucks slated for production this week in the U.S., General Motors Corp. accounted for 34.5 percent; Ford Motor Co., 23.7 percent; Chrysler of DaimlerChrysler, 15.7 percent; Honda of America Mfg. Inc., 6.6 percent; Toyota Motor Mfg. Inc., 6.2 percent; Nissan Motor Mfg. Corp., 4.7 percent; New United Motor Mfg. Inc., 3.0 percent; BMW of North America Inc., 1.3 percent; Mitsubishi Motor Mfg. of America Inc., 0.0 percent; AutoAlliance International Inc., 0.9 percent; Subaru Automotive Inc., 1.0 percent; Mercedes-Benz U.S. of DaimlerChrysler, 0.7 percent; and other manufacturers, 1.7 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    94,530     99,484      101,783   3,283,471  3,746,599     -12.4
  Trucks 163,256    166,113      159,169   5,415,044  5,243,523       3.3
  TOTAL  257,786    265,597      260,952   8,698,515  8,990,122      -3.2
  Canada
  Cars    28,369     29,545       26,089   1,008,364  1,005,680       0.3
  Trucks  28,100     22,301       27,740     852,390    952,020     -10.5
  TOTAL   56,469     51,846       53,829   1,860,754  1,957,700      -5.0
  Mexico
  Cars    12,850     14,362       18,822     629,522    722,718     -12.9
  Trucks  14,724     19,713       17,309     610,327    611,538      -0.2
  TOTAL   27,574     34,075       36,131   1,239,849  1,334,256      -7.1
  U.S.\Canada\Mexico
  Cars   135,749    143,391      146,694   4,921,357  5,474,997     -10.1
  Trucks 206,080    208,127      204,218   6,877,761  6,807,081       1.0
  GRAND  341,829    351,518      350,912  11,799,118 12,282,078      -3.9
  TOTAL

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

  ON THE WEB: www.wardsauto.com