Ward's Reports Estimated North American Vehicle Production - Jan 7, 2005

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Jan. 7, 2005 -- Vehicle production for the first week of 2005 in the U.S., Canada and Mexico is expected to hit an estimated 304,081 units, according to Ward's Automotive Reports.

In the U.S., automakers are expected to produce 234,551 vehicles this week, up 0.1 percent from the 234,279 cars and trucks built this week a year ago.

This week's Canadian vehicle production is estimated at 43,830, a decrease of 7.0 percent from the 47,112 units assembled this week last year.

Of the cars and trucks slated for production this week in the U.S., General Motors Corp. accounted for 31.5 percent; Ford Motor Co., 27.1 percent; Chrysler of DaimlerChrysler, 7.1 percent; Honda of America Mfg. Inc., 7.2 percent; Toyota Motor Mfg. Inc., 7.3 percent; Nissan Motor Mfg. Corp., 7.7 percent; New United Motor Mfg. Inc., 3.4 percent; BMW of North America Inc., 1.2 percent; Mitsubishi Motor Mfg. of America Inc., 0.8 percent; AutoAlliance International Inc., 2.4 percent; Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc., 0.8 percent; Mercedes-Benz U.S. of DaimlerChrysler, 0.8 percent; and other manufacturers, 2.7 percent.

                     NORTH AMERICA FACTORY PRODUCTION
             This Week  Last Week  Same Week  To Date  To Date  Pct. Change
             Estimated  Revised    Last Year   2005     2004   2005 vs. 2004
  U.S.
  Cars        91,379       0        80,241     91,379   80,241     13.9
  Trucks     143,172       0       154,038    143,172  157,704     -9.2
  TOTAL      234,551       0       234,279    234,551  237,945     -1.4
  Canada
  Cars        25,247       0        25,849     25,247   25,849     -2.3
  Trucks      18,583       0        21,263     18,583   21,803    -14.8
  TOTAL       43,830       0        47,112     43,830   47,652     -8.0
  Mexico
  Cars        14,361       0        13,138     14,361   21,099    -31.9
  Trucks      11,339       0        11,466     11,339   12,650    -10.4
  TOTAL       25,700       0        24,604     25,700   33,749    -23.8
  U.S.\Canada\Mexico
  Cars       130,987       0       119,228    130,987  127,189      3.0
  Trucks     173,094       0       186,767    173,094  192,157     -9.9
  GRAND      304,081       0       305,995    304,081  319,346     -4.8
  TOTAL

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

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