Ward's Reports Estimated North American Vehicle Production 2/27/04

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Feb. 27, 2004 -- Vehicle production this week in the U.S., Canada and Mexico is expected to hit an estimated 354,060 units, up 0.2 percent from the 353,321 cars and trucks built last week, according to Ward's Automotive Reports.

Including this week's estimates, calendar year North American output now totals 2,665,277 vehicles, down 5.1 percent from like-2003's pace.

In the U.S., automakers are expected to produce 270,514 vehicles this week, up 0.2 percent from the 269,946 cars and trucks built last week. To date, calendar 2004 U.S. vehicle output totals an estimated 1,994,105 units, down 3.8 percent from the 2,072,759 vehicles built in like-2003.

This week's Canadian vehicle production is estimated at 53,684, an increase of 4.5 percent from the 51,392 units assembled last week. Estimated calendar-2004 Canadian vehicle production now stands at 423,656 units, down 3.1 percent compared to the 437,068 vehicles produced in like-2003.

Of the cars and trucks slated for production this week in the U.S., General Motors Corp. accounted for 32.3 percent; Ford Motor Co., 27.9 percent; Chrysler of DaimlerChrysler, 14.3 percent; Honda of America Mfg. Inc., 6.2 percent; Toyota Motor Mfg. Inc., 6.2 percent; Nissan Motor Mfg. Corp., 5.3 percent; New United Motor Mfg. Inc., 2.9 percent; BMW of North America Inc., 1.1 percent; Mitsubishi Motor Mfg. of America Inc., 1.2 percent; AutoAlliance International Inc., 0.0 percent; Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc., 0.2 percent; Mercedes-Benz U.S. of DaimlerChrysler, 0.6 percent; and other manufacturers, 1.8 percent.

                     NORTH AMERICA FACTORY PRODUCTION
         This Week  Last Week    Same Week    To Date  To Date   Pct. Change
         Estimated   Revised     Last Year      2004     2003  2004 vs. 2003
  U.S.
  Cars    100,043      96,732      96,047     705,334    796,364    -11.4
  Trucks  170,471     173,214     157,013   1,288,771  1,276,395      1.0
  TOTAL   270,514     269,946     253,060   1,994,105  2,072,759     -3.8
  Canada
  Cars     26,743      27,363      24,190     213,960    233,361     -8.3
  Trucks   26,941      24,029      25,730     209,696    203,707      2.9
  TOTAL    53,684      51,392      49,920     423,656    437,068     -3.1
  Mexico
  Cars     14,509      15,080      20,667     119,942    162,496    -26.2
  Trucks   15,353      16,903      19,024     127,574    137,166     -7.0
  TOTAL    29,862      31,983      39,691     247,516    299,662    -17.4
  U.S.\Canada\Mexico
  Cars    141,295     139,175     140,904   1,039,236  1,192,221    -12.8
  Trucks  212,765     214,146     201,767   1,626,041  1,617,268      0.5
  GRAND   354,060     353,321     342,671   2,665,277  2,809,489     -5.1
  TOTAL

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

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