Ward's Reports Estimated North American Vehicle Production- Week of March 26, 2004

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., March 26 -- Vehicle production this week in the U.S., Canada and Mexico is expected to hit an estimated 346,984 units, up 2.2 percent from the 339,365 cars and trucks built last week, according to Ward's Automotive Reports.

Including this week's estimates, calendar year North American output now totals 4,035,182 vehicles, down 3.7 percent from like-2003's pace.

In the U.S., automakers are expected to produce 262,555 vehicles this week, up 2.1 percent from the 257,050 cars and trucks built last week. To date, calendar 2004 U.S. vehicle output totals an estimated 3,027,183 units, down 2.1 percent from the 3,092,155 vehicles built in like-2003.

This week's Canadian vehicle production is estimated at 55,616, an increase of 8.1 percent from the 51,456 units assembled last week. Estimated calendar-2004 Canadian vehicle production now stands at 638,904 units, down 2.5 percent compared to the 655,554 vehicles produced in like-2003.

Of the cars and trucks slated for production this week in the U.S., General Motors Corp. accounted for 33.4 percent; Ford Motor Co., 25.6 percent; Chrysler of DaimlerChrysler, 15.6 percent; Honda of America Mfg. Inc., 6.4 percent; Toyota Motor Mfg. Inc., 6.4 percent; Nissan Motor Mfg. Corp., 5.4 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., 0.0 percent; Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc., 0.4 percent; Mercedes-Benz U.S. of DaimlerChrysler, 0.6 percent; and other manufacturers, 1.9 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     90,606     89,990     97,530    1,066,242  1,171,236     -9.0
  Trucks  171,949    167,060    159,731    1,960,941  1,920,919      2.1
  TOTAL   262,555    257,050    257,261    3,027,183  3,092,155     -2.1
  Canada
  Cars     27,664     27,628     31,134      327,268    348,544     -6.1
  Trucks   27,952     23,828     27,375      311,636    307,010      1.5
  TOTAL    55,616     51,456     58,509      638,904    655,554     -2.5
  Mexico
  Cars     15,310     16,097     16,816      187,956    236,973    -20.7
  Trucks   13,503     14,762     17,497      181,139    207,342    -12.6
  TOTAL    28,813     30,859     34,313      369,095    444,315    -16.9
  U.S.\Canada\Mexico
  Cars    133,580    133,715    145,480    1,581,466  1,756,753    -10.0
  Trucks  213,404    205,650    204,603    2,453,716  2,435,271      0.8
  GRAND   346,984    339,365    350,083    4,035,182  4,192,024     -3.7
  TOTAL

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