Ward's Reports Estimated North American Vehicle Production - December 30, 2005

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Dec. 30, 2005 -- With the majority of manufacturers closed this week due to the holiday season, WardsAuto.com is estimating that calendar-year 2005 production in North America of all cars and trucks -- including medium- and heavy-duty makes -- will finish at 16,316,174 units, up 0.6 percent from 2004's 16,224,864.

In what will be Ward's last weekly production report, North American output for the final week of 2005 is estimated at 9,709 units, compared to 299,620 built the prior week and zero output estimated for same-week 2004.

Although Ward's is discontinuing its weekly production estimates as of 2006, the independent automotive data and publishing service will continue to offer monthly and annual production, as well as production forecasts, for North American assembly plants at the manufacturer, plant and vehicle line levels.

Meantime, in just the U.S., calendar 2005 output is estimated at 11,945,936 units, down 0.1 percent from the 11,960,354 vehicles assembled last year.

Canada's 2005 output is pegged at 2,691,409 units, down 0.7 percent from 2004, while production in Mexico is estimated to have increased 8.1% to 1,678,829.

Of 2005's estimated U.S. vehicle production, General Motors Corp. accounted for 27.6 percent; Ford Motor Co., 23.4 percent; Chrysler of DaimlerChrysler, 13.9 percent; Honda of America Mfg. Inc., 7.8 percent; Toyota Motor Mfg. Inc., 7.3 percent; Nissan Motor Mfg. Corp., 7.0 percent; New United Motor Mfg. Inc., 3.5 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., 1.0 percent; Mercedes- Benz U.S. of DaimlerChrysler, 0.6 percent; and other manufacturers, 3.8 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       0       77,664       0      4,324,144   4,229,625       2.2
  Trucks     0      134,902       0      7,621,792   7,730,729      -1.4
  TOTAL      0      212,566       0     11,945,936  11,960,354      -0.1
  Canada
  Cars       0       27,081       0      1,354,974   1,335,516       1.5
  Trucks     0       21,288       0      1,336,435   1,376,020      -2.9
  TOTAL      0       48,369       0      2,691,409   2,711,536      -0.7
  Mexico
  Cars     8,143     18,088       0        843,020     781,827       7.8
  Trucks   1,566     20,597       0        835,809     771,147       8.4
  TOTAL    9,709     38,685       0      1,678,829   1,552,974       8.1
  U.S.\Canada\Mexico
  Cars     8,143    122,833       0      6,522,138   6,346,968       2.8
  Trucks   1,566    176,787       0      9,794,036   9,877,896      -0.8
  GRAND    9,709    299,620       0     16,316,174  16,224,864       0.6
  TOTAL

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

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