Ward's Reports Estimated North American Vehicle Production- May 7, 2004

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., May 7, 2004 -- Vehicle production this week in the U.S., Canada and Mexico is expected to hit an estimated 336,926 units, down 6.3 percent from the 359,706 cars and trucks built last week, according to Ward's Automotive Reports.

Including this week's estimates, calendar year North American output now totals 6,043,895 vehicles, down 1.5 percent from like-2003's pace.

In the U.S., automakers are expected to produce 250,812 vehicles this week, down 6.2 percent from the 267,424 cars and trucks built last week. To date, calendar 2004 U.S. vehicle output totals an estimated 4,522,657 units, relatively flat compared to the 4,523,886 vehicles built in like-2003.

This week's Canadian vehicle production is estimated at 55,015, a decrease of 8.8 percent from the 60,336 units assembled last week. Estimated calendar- 2004 Canadian vehicle production now stands at 970,237 units, down 1.3 percent compared to the 983,069 vehicles produced in like-2003.

Of the cars and trucks slated for production this week in the U.S., General Motors Corp. accounted for 31.4 percent; Ford Motor Co., 23.5 percent; Chrysler of DaimlerChrysler, 16.5 percent; Honda of America Mfg. Inc., 6.5 percent; Toyota Motor Mfg. Inc., 6.7 percent; Nissan Motor Mfg. Corp., 5.4 percent; New United Motor Mfg. Inc., 3.1 percent; BMW of North America Inc., 1.2 percent; Mitsubishi Motor Mfg. of America Inc., 1.2 percent; AutoAlliance International Inc., 0.8 percent; Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc., 1.1 percent; Mercedes-Benz U.S. of DaimlerChrysler, 0.8 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     87,853    96,819    93,221   1,606,719  1,704,752      -5.8
  Trucks  162,959   170,605   159,347   2,915,938  2,819,134       3.4
  TOTAL   250,812   267,424   252,568   4,522,657  4,523,886       0.0
  Canada
  Cars     29,621    29,100    27,014     483,610    523,418      -7.6
  Trucks   25,394    31,236    28,120     486,627    459,651       5.9
  TOTAL    55,015    60,336    55,134     970,237    983,069      -1.3
  Mexico
  Cars     15,422    15,799    17,874     278,130    330,921     -16.0
  Trucks   15,677    16,147    16,410     272,871    300,980      -9.3
  TOTAL    31,099    31,946    34,284     551,001    631,901     -12.8
  U.S.\Canada\Mexico
  Cars    132,896   141,718   138,109   2,368,459  2,559,091      -7.4
  Trucks  204,030   217,988   203,877   3,675,436  3,579,765       2.7
  GRAND   336,926   359,706   341,986   6,043,895  6,138,856      -1.5
  TOTAL

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

Ward's Communications, a division of PRIMEDIA Business Magazines & Media, Inc.