Ward's Reports Estimated Weekly North American Vehicle Production - July 15 2005

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., July 15 -- Vehicle production this week in the U.S., Canada and Mexico is expected to hit an estimated 139,389 units, up 37.7 percent from the 101,193 cars and trucks built last week, according to http://wardsauto.com/ .

The downtime for this week, and last week, is due to General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. beginning their traditional summer shutdowns.

Including this week's estimates, calendar year North American output now totals 8,749,076 vehicles, down 1.1 percent from like-2004's pace.

In the U.S., automakers are expected to produce 91,444 vehicles this week, up 70.2 percent from the 53,727 cars and trucks built last week. To date, calendar 2005 U.S. vehicle output totals an estimated 6,488,749 units, down 1.0 percent compared to the 6,552,817 vehicles built in like-2004.

This week's Canadian vehicle production is estimated at 15,776, an increase of 3.7 percent from the 15,206 units assembled last week. Estimated calendar-2005 Canadian vehicle production now stands at 1,401,620 units, down 4.6 percent compared to the 1,468,701 vehicles produced in like-2004.

Of the cars and trucks slated for production this week in the U.S., General Motors Corp. accounted for 0.0 percent; Ford Motor Co., 0.0 percent; Chrysler of DaimlerChrysler, 15.0 percent; Honda of America Mfg. Inc., 20.4 percent; Toyota Motor Mfg. Inc., 19.4 percent; Nissan Motor Mfg. Corp., 17.2 percent; New United Motor Mfg. Inc., 9.7 percent; BMW of North America Inc., 2.8 percent; Mitsubishi Motor Mfg. of America Inc., 2.1 percent; AutoAlliance International Inc., 0.0 percent; Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc., 2.9 percent; Mercedes-Benz U.S. of DaimlerChrysler, 1.2 percent; and other manufacturers, 9.3 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    42,049     20,455     37,896   2,372,352  2,332,046      1.7
  Trucks  49,395     33,272     44,247   4,116,397  4,220,771     -2.5
  TOTAL   91,444     53,727     82,143   6,488,749  6,552,817     -1.0
  Canada
  Cars     8,820      4,667     11,405     681,400    714,191     -4.6
  Trucks   6,956     10,539      7,916     720,220    754,510     -4.5
  TOTAL   15,776     15,206     19,321   1,401,620  1,468,701     -4.6
  Mexico
  Cars    15,719     15,719     10,284     444,224    414,089      7.3
  Trucks  16,450     16,541      7,893     414,483    408,489      1.5
  TOTAL   32,169     32,260     18,177     858,707    822,578      4.4
  U.S.\Canada\Mexico
  Cars    66,588     40,841     59,585   3,497,976  3,460,326      1.1
  Trucks  72,801     60,352     60,056   5,251,100  5,383,770     -2.5
  GRAND  139,389    101,193    119,641   8,749,076  8,844,096     -1.1
  TOTAL

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

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

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