Ward's Reports Estimated North American Weekly Vehicle Production-March 4, 2005

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., March 4 -- Vehicle production this week in the U.S., Canada and Mexico is expected to hit an estimated 349,978 units, down 0.6 percent from the 352,067 cars and trucks built last week, according to http://wardsauto.com/ .

Including this week's estimates, calendar year North American output now totals 2,986,818 vehicles, down 0.5 percent from like-2004's pace.

In the U.S., automakers are expected to produce 255,467 vehicles this week, down 3.2 percent from the 263,917 cars and trucks built last week. To date, calendar 2005 U.S. vehicle output totals an estimated 2,234,150 units, down 0.7 percent compared to the 2,249,845 vehicles built in like-2004.

This week's Canadian vehicle production is estimated at 57,304, an increase of 0.7 percent from the 56,924 units assembled last week. Estimated calendar-2005 Canadian vehicle production now stands at 476,775 units, up 0.1 percent compared to the 476,266 vehicles produced in like-2004.

Of the cars and trucks slated for production this week in the U.S., General Motors Corp. accounted for 26.1 percent; Ford Motor Co., 24.1 percent; Chrysler of DaimlerChrysler, 16.0 percent; Honda of America Mfg. Inc., 7.2 percent; Toyota Motor Mfg. Inc., 7.0 percent; Nissan Motor Mfg. Corp., 8.6 percent; New United Motor Mfg. Inc., 3.1 percent; BMW of North America Inc., 1.1 percent; Mitsubishi Motor Mfg. of America Inc., 0.7 percent; AutoAlliance International Inc., 2.3 percent; Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc., 0.7 percent; Mercedes-Benz U.S. of DaimlerChrysler, 0.4 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     85,208    96,036    100,429    824,850    798,501        3.3
  Trucks  170,259   167,881    168,407  1,409,300  1,451,344       -2.9
  TOTAL   255,467   263,917    268,836  2,234,150  2,249,845       -0.7
  Canada
  Cars     28,900    29,146     27,658    242,291    244,205       -0.8
  Trucks   28,404    27,778     24,455    234,484    232,061        1.0
  TOTAL    57,304    56,924     52,113    476,775    476,266        0.1
  Mexico
  Cars     17,499    16,615     16,136    149,482    142,175        5.1
  Trucks   19,708    14,611     15,276    126,411    134,373       -5.9
  TOTAL    37,207    31,226     31,412    275,893    276,548       -0.2
  U.S.\Canada\Mexico
  Cars    131,607   141,797    144,223  1,216,623  1,184,881        2.7
  Trucks  218,371   210,270    208,138  1,770,195  1,817,778       -2.6
  GRAND   349,978   352,067    352,361  2,986,818  3,002,659       -0.5
  TOTAL

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

  ON THE WEB: http://www.wardsauto.com/

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