Ward's Reports Estimated North American Vehicle Production April 23, 2004

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., April 23 -- Vehicle production this week in the U.S., Canada and Mexico is expected to hit an estimated 351,851 units, up 10.1 percent from the 319,602 cars and trucks built last week, according to Ward's Automotive Reports.

Including this week's estimates, calendar year North American output now totals 5,349,136 vehicles, down 1.8 percent from like-2003's pace.

In the U.S., automakers are expected to produce 269,855 vehicles this week, up 14.7 percent from the 235,312 cars and trucks built last week. To date, calendar 2004 U.S. vehicle output totals an estimated 4,009,031 units, down 0.1 percent from the 4,012,021 vehicles built in like-2003.

This week's Canadian vehicle production is estimated at 51,873, a decrease of 1.4 percent from the 52,626 units assembled last week. Estimated calendar- 2004 Canadian vehicle production now stands at 854,777 units, down 1.7 percent compared to the 869,126 vehicles produced in like-2003.

Of the cars and trucks slated for production this week in the U.S., General Motors Corp. accounted for 30.2 percent; Ford Motor Co., 27.1 percent; Chrysler of DaimlerChrysler, 15.9 percent; Honda of America Mfg. Inc., 6.0 percent; Toyota Motor Mfg. Inc., 6.3 percent; Nissan Motor Mfg. Corp., 5.2 percent; New United Motor Mfg. Inc., 2.8 percent; BMW of North America Inc., 1.1 percent; Mitsubishi Motor Mfg. of America Inc., 1.4 percent; AutoAlliance International Inc., 0.7 percent; Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc., 1.0 percent; Mercedes-Benz U.S. of DaimlerChrysler, 0.6 percent; and other manufacturers, 1.7 percent.

                     NORTH AMERICA FACTORY PRODUCTION
         This Week  Last Week  Same Week   To Date    To Date   Pct. Change
         Estimated   Revised   Last Year     2004      2003    2004 vs. 2003
  U.S.
  Cars     97,600     87,581     87,743   1,425,254  1,511,797      -5.7
  Trucks  172,255    147,731    138,034   2,583,777  2,500,224       3.3
  TOTAL   269,855    235,312    225,777   4,009,031  4,012,021      -0.1
  Canada
  Cars     21,286     24,716     28,301     425,123    464,284      -8.4
  Trucks   30,587     27,910     24,165     429,654    404,842       6.1
  TOTAL    51,873     52,626     52,466     854,777    869,126      -1.7
  Mexico
  Cars     15,110     14,996      9,313     245,947    296,213     -17.0
  Trucks   15,013     16,668     16,152     239,381    270,250     -11.4
  TOTAL    30,123     31,664     25,465     485,328    566,463     -14.3
  U.S.\Canada\Mexico
  Cars    133,996    127,293    125,357   2,096,324  2,272,294      -7.7
  Trucks  217,855    192,309    178,351   3,252,812  3,175,316       2.4
  GRAND   351,851    319,602    303,708   5,349,136  5,447,610      -1.8
  TOTAL

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

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