Ward's Reports Estimated North American Vehicle Production

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Sept. 2 -- Vehicle production this week in the U.S., Canada and Mexico is expected to hit an estimated 309,125 units, down 11.1 percent from the 347,702 cars and trucks built last week, according to WardsAuto.com.

Including this week's estimates, calendar year North American output now totals 10,935,197 vehicles, down 0.9 percent from like-2004's pace.

In the U.S., automakers are expected to produce 227,724 vehicles this week, down 9.7 percent from the 252,239 cars and trucks built last week. To date, calendar 2005 U.S. vehicle output totals an estimated 8,129,198 units, down 0.4 percent compared to the 8,161,281 vehicles built in like-2004.

This week's Canadian vehicle production is estimated at 47,756, a decrease of 21.5 percent from the 60,861 units assembled last week. Estimated calendar-2005 Canadian vehicle production now stands at 1,749,531 units, down 4.3 percent compared to the 1,828,566 vehicles produced in like-2004.

Of the cars and trucks slated for production this week in the U.S., General Motors Corp. accounted for 28.2 percent; Ford Motor Co., 24.1 percent; Chrysler of DaimlerChrysler, 11.6 percent; Honda of America Mfg. Inc., 8.4 percent; Toyota Motor Mfg. Inc., 7.7 percent; Nissan Motor Mfg. Corp., 6.1 percent; New United Motor Mfg. Inc., 3.5 percent; AutoAlliance International Inc., 2.4 percent; Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc., 1.2 percent; BMW of North America Inc., 1.2 percent; Mitsubishi Motor Mfg. of America Inc., 0.8 percent; Mercedes-Benz U.S. of DaimlerChrysler, 0.9 percent; and other manufacturers, 3.9 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     81,181     89,938     79,167   2,965,527    2,910,788     1.9
  Trucks  146,543    162,301    156,293   5,163,671    5,250,493    -1.7
  TOTAL   227,724    252,239    235,460   8,129,198    8,161,281    -0.4
  Canada
  Cars     24,604     31,797     22,602     859,557      889,754    -3.4
  Trucks   23,152     29,064     25,190     889,974      938,812    -5.2
  TOTAL    47,756     60,861     47,792   1,749,531    1,828,566    -4.3
  Mexico
  Cars     15,385     15,758     18,330     543,697      526,261     3.3
  Trucks   18,260     18,844     16,920     512,771      514,081    -0.3
  TOTAL    33,645     34,602     35,250   1,056,468    1,040,342     1.6
  U.S.\Canada\Mexico
  Cars    121,170    137,493    120,099   4,368,781    4,326,803     1.0
  Trucks  187,955    210,209    198,403   6,566,416    6,703,386    -2.0
  GRAND   309,125    347,702    318,502  10,935,197   11,030,189    -0.9
  TOTAL

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

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