Ward's Reports Estimated North American Vehicle Production- 4/1/05

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., April 1 -- Vehicle production this week in the U.S., Canada and Mexico is expected to hit an estimated 309,071 units, up 20.3 percent from the 256,928 cars and trucks built last week, according to WardsAuto.com.

Including this week's estimates, calendar year North American output now totals 4,241,475 vehicles, down 3.6 percent from like-2004's pace.

In the U.S., automakers are expected to produce 224,916 vehicles this week, up 9.2 percent from the 206,049 cars and trucks built last week. To date, calendar 2005 U.S. vehicle output totals an estimated 3,190,530 units, down 3.2 percent compared to the 3,295,754 vehicles built in like-2004.

This week's Canadian vehicle production is estimated at 49,666, an increase of 10.9 percent from the 44,779 units assembled last week. Estimated calendar-2005 Canadian vehicle production now stands at 676,433 units, down 3.9 percent compared to the 703,916 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., 22.8 percent; Chrysler of DaimlerChrysler, 15.4 percent; Honda of America Mfg. Inc., 7.1 percent; Toyota Motor Mfg. Inc., 7.9 percent; Nissan Motor Mfg. Corp., 7.6 percent; New United Motor Mfg. Inc., 3.5 percent; BMW of North America Inc., 1.3 percent; Mitsubishi Motor Mfg. of America Inc., 0.8 percent; AutoAlliance International Inc., 3.3 percent; Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc., 0.6 percent; Mercedes-Benz U.S. of DaimlerChrysler, 0.4 percent; and other manufacturers, 3.2 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      79,999     78,033    96,163   1,172,228   1,162,669     0.8
  Trucks   144,917    128,016   172,550   2,018,302   2,133,085    -5.4
  TOTAL    224,916    206,049   268,713   3,190,530   3,295,754    -3.2
  Canada
  Cars      24,865     22,654    28,971     331,151     356,260    -7.0
  Trucks    24,801     22,125    32,233     345,282     347,656    -0.7
  TOTAL     49,666     44,779    61,204     676,433     703,916    -3.9
  Mexico
  Cars      16,005      4,828    16,195     197,197     206,856    -4.7
  Trucks    18,484      1,272    15,086     177,315     195,603    -9.3
  TOTAL     34,489      6,100    31,281     374,512     402,459    -6.9
  U.S.\Canada\Mexico
  Cars     120,869    105,515   141,329   1,700,576   1,725,785    -1.5
  Trucks   188,202    151,413   219,869   2,540,899   2,676,344    -5.1
  GRAND    309,071    256,928   361,198   4,241,475   4,402,129    -3.6
  TOTAL

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

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

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