Leveling Off

By total volume, 2001 is a slightly off year for North American transplant automakers, dipping down slightly below the 4 million mark after topping it for the first time last year. But the 2.3% falloff in production likely will come in much lower than the 10% decline by the traditional Big Three. The 0% inspired buying binge of Big Three cars and trucks that followed the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. only served to reduce burgeoning inventories and made little change in production schedules.

For the year, transplants notched their highest-ever percentage of North American production — a full 25% of auto production, up from 23% in 2000 and significantly higher than the roughly 20% mark that it had maintained from 1991 to 1997.

Only three transplant automakers will best their 2000 North American output: BMW's South Carolina complex, up about 45%; Honda of America, up about 6%, and the joint GM/Toyota NUMMI plant in California, climbing nearly 5%. At the other end of the scale, those operations with the biggest falloff were: Mazda's AutoAlliance International Inc., off more than 25%; Canada's GM/Suzuki CAMI venture, down nearly 20%; and Mitsubishi's Diamond-Star operations in Illinois, down 13%.

Auto Alliance

The former Mazda operation in Flat Rock, MI, was effectively turned into a Ford assembly plant in 1996 and currently produces the slow-selling Mercury Cougar 2-door coupe and Mazda 626 sedan.

Output for calendar 2001 is off by more than 28% and will end up the year at just over 78,000 — a far cry from its peak of nearly a quarter million in 1994 and the lowest in the last 10 years. Mazda 626 takes up close to two-thirds of the production, with the remainder for Cougar, which goes away at the end of the '03 model year.

When all three variants of the all-new Mazda 6 go into production, the plant should see a near doubling of Mazda output to 125,000 units annually on two shifts, a North American-based executive says. Currently, Mazda's half of AAI is producing about 65,000 626 sedans per year.

The 626 replacement, which picks up the new name Mazda 6, will be introduced as a 4-door sedan initially, says Stephen Odell, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Mazda North American Operations. He expects North America to receive the 5-door hatch — unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in October — about nine months later. And finally, the family will be rounded out with a station wagon.

BMW

The German automaker will more than double its output of X5 SUVs this year at Spartanburg, SC, topping 91,000. Output of the Z3 roadsters at Spartanburg is off by about 8% at about 35,000, the lowest car output at the plant since its first year of full production in 1996. Combined with its 1,000 or so kit-built models in Lerma, Mexico, BMW's North American output will top 124,000 vehicles, a 45% increase for the year and the first year for BMW transplant production to top the 100,000 mark.

CAMI

CAMI, the joint operation of GM and Suzuki in Ingersoll, Ont., hit its peak in 1995 as it toppped 180,000 units — more than 110,000 Metro and Sprint small cars and nearly 70,000 SUVs (Chevy Trackers and Suzuki Sidekicks).

The car side fell to a mere 9,100 or so, as it ramped down to an April 2001 close of production for the Metro and Swift. The truck side has been cranking out at a near 75,000-units-per year since the bulked-up 1998 redesign of the SUV, still Tracker at Chevy but renamed Vitara for Suzuki. Nevertheless, overall plant output is down nearly 20% over 2000. That may get a boost with the arrival of a new product based on the Saturn Vue SUV platform in '03 or '04.

Honda

This year marks the second for Honda's North American output to top a million units.

Production increases have been consistent over the last decade and are now nearly double its 550,000 total for 1991. Overall North American gains for Honda this year are pegged at close to 6%.

Its Honda Odyssey minivan and Acura MDX SUV made at Alliston, Ont., were big gainers, showing a 20% increase over 2000. Output of a mix of Canada-only Acura EL and Honda Civics at Alliston tops 175,000, for a modest 7% gain. The Odyssey's move to Honda's new Lincoln, AL, plant makes room for a Honda-built SUV to replace the Isuzu-built Honda Passport.

Its car output of Accords in El Salto, Mexico, will climb to 28,000 — a more than 25% increase over 2000.

In the U.S., output gains will be more modest, up only about 1.5% to more than 685,000 Acura CLs and TLs and Honda Accords and Civics at plants in Marysville, East Liberty and Anna, OH. Honda's number will take a sizable jump next year as the new Alabama complex ramps up production for Odyssey and MDX and their accompanying V-6 engines.

Mitsubishi

Despite a falloff of more than 13%, Mitsubishi's Diamond-Star plant in Normal, IL, will post its third highest output in the last decade with 193,000 Mitsubishi Eclipse and Galants, and Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Stratus coupes. The Chrysler Group cars make up about 15% of the plant output. Last year saw a record 222,000 cars produced. This year's mark also falls under the 218,000 recorded in 1995.

No changes are planned until at least 2004, but the plant maintains a key role in the Mitsubishi/DaimlerChrysler global production plan. Chrysler Group chief Dieter Zetsche's turnaround plan calls for greater flexibility in the Mitsubishi model mix, allowing for possible production of future Mitsubishi models at DC plants if the Illinois plant becomes capacity constrained.

By then, Mitsubishi will have a significant say in Stuttgart's worldwide strategy as it takes on lead engineering on the next-generation Mitsubishi Lancer/Dodge Neon platform.

Nissan

This now French/Japanese combine relies on Mexico for more than 50% of its North American production. The plants at Aguascalientes and Cuernavaca put out 281,000 Sentra cars and 34,000 pickup trucks into the pipeline. Their more than 315,000 units topped the 304,000 output expected at Nissan's sprawling Smyrna, TN, operations. The still non-union plant produced 137,000 Altimas and 167,000 XTerra SUVs and Frontier pickups.

The model mix shifts slightly in 2003 when the new Canton, MS, plant ramps up to build fullsize pickups and SUVs and the next-generation Nissan minivan. Smyrna also is still scheduled to expand its capacity to 500,000 units from its current 380,000, when Maxima moves in for '04.

NUMMI

GM and Toyota have kept this California outpost on a steady keel for the last nine years at a better than 300,000 unit annual clip. This year's tally for the former GM facility will hit 360,000 — with 195,000 Chevy Prizm and Toyota Corollas and 164,000 Tacoma pickup trucks.

Output is up by more than 4% over 2000, despite retooling for the new Corolla and '03 Pontiac Vibe, which replaces production of the outgoing Chevy Prizm.

Subaru Isuzu

Subaru has been able to hold up its end of this shared venture by Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. and Isuzu Motors Ltd. Subaru Legacy car output will reach 105,000, a fall-off of only about 4% this year, and topping the 100,000 mark for the fourth time in the last six years. On the Isuzu truck side, production is off by more than 15% to around 85,000 units. Isuzu makes the Honda Passport as well as its own Rodeo, Rodeo Sport and Axiom SUVs at the Lafayette, IN, facility. SIA will lose the Honda output by next year as Honda begins to build its own SUV in Alliston, Ont.

Added capacity comes to the Subaru side when the STX four-seater with exposed rear mini-bed goes on line for '03 or '04. A new engine plant is also slated to go on line and produce 24,000 powerplants beginning in 2003.

Toyota

Japan's No. 1 automaker has more than tripled its annual North American production in the last decade, and for the first time will show a decline in output — less than 1% — due in part to the model changeover for the new Corolla and Matrix and perhaps some caution by production planners as the U.S. economy turned soft. Numbers for the Princeton, IN, Georgetown, KY, and Cambridge, Ont., assembly plants combined will hit 802,000, off only 6,000 units or so over last year.

Cambridge will get a boost next year when the production of the '03 Toyota Matrix and Lexus RX300 begin there.

Combining TMMC and Toyota's NUMMI output, for the second straight year puts Toyota's North American output past the 1 million mark and virtually equal to that of Honda's North American totals.

On the powerplant side, Toyota Motor Mfg. USA Inc.'s Buffalo, WV, facility launched production of automatic transmissions, the first built by Toyota Motor Corp. outside Japan. Plans also call for a new V-8 engine plant in Huntsville, AL, to supply powerplants for the Tundra pickup and Sequoia SUV.

Volkswagen

Output is off by nearly 10% for the year at Volkswagen's Puebla, Mexico, plant.

It's the only source for New Beetle and a sizable chunk of Jettas sold in North America.