Ward's Reports Estimated North American Vehicle Production- Week Of April 16, 2004

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., April 16 -- Vehicle production this week in the U.S., Canada and Mexico is expected to hit an estimated 313,612 units, up 11.0 percent from the 282,649 cars and trucks built last week, according to Ward's Automotive Reports.

Including this week's estimates, calendar year North American output now totals 4,991,916 vehicles, down 3.0 percent from like-2003's pace.

In the U.S., automakers are expected to produce 236,262 vehicles this week, down 12.5 percent from the 210,073 cars and trucks built last week. To date, calendar 2004 U.S. vehicle output totals an estimated 3,739,806 units, down 1.2 percent from the 3,786,244 vehicles built in like-2003.

This week's Canadian vehicle production is estimated at 49,829, a decrease of 6.0 percent from the 47,013 units assembled last week. Estimated calendar- 2004 Canadian vehicle production now stands at 797,187 units, down 2.4 percent compared to the 816,660 vehicles produced in like-2003.

Of the cars and trucks slated for production this week in the U.S., General Motors Corp. accounted for 28.6 percent; Ford Motor Co., 25.3 percent; Chrysler of DaimlerChrysler, 14.1 percent; Honda of America Mfg. Inc., 7.1 percent; Toyota Motor Mfg. Inc., 7.2 percent; Nissan Motor Mfg. Corp., 6.9 percent; New United Motor Mfg. Inc., 3.5 percent; BMW of North America Inc., 1.1 percent; Mitsubishi Motor Mfg. of America Inc., 1.2 percent; AutoAlliance International Inc., 0.8 percent; Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc., 1.5 percent; Mercedes-Benz U.S. of DaimlerChrysler, 0.7 percent; and other manufacturers, 2.0 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     90,134     76,422     77,759    1,329,222   1,424,054     -6.7
  Trucks  146,128    133,651    126,626    2,410,584   2,362,190      2.0
  TOTAL   236,262    210,073    204,385    3,739,806   3,786,244     -1.2
  Canada
  Cars     23,776     22,770     24,972      401,163     435,983     -8.0
  Trucks   26,053     24,243     22,655      396,024     380,677      4.0
  TOTAL    49,829     47,013     47,627      797,187     816,660     -2.4
  Mexico
  Cars     14,030     14,418     10,095      234,548     286,900    -18.2
  Trucks   13,491     11,145     11,400      220,375     254,098    -13.3
  TOTAL    27,521     25,563     21,495      454,923     540,998    -15.9
  U.S.\Canada\Mexico
  Cars    127,940    113,610    112,826    1,964,933   2,146,937     -8.5
  Trucks  185,672    169,039    160,681    3,026,983   2,996,965      1.0
  GRAND   313,612    282,649    273,507    4,991,916   5,143,902     -3.0
  TOTAL

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

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