North American Light-Vehicle Production Soars 12.6% in February

North American automakers built 1,518,014 light vehicles in February, soaring 12.6% above like-2015 and reaching a 15-year high for the month.

The region’s total was boosted by strong output from Canadian plants, where production rose 20.2% to 198,985 units. This growth was amplified by Ford light-truck production, which more than doubled from last February to 24,534 units.

Light-vehicle production in the U.S. reached a robust total of 1,048,481 units, climbing 16.4% over year-ago. A sharp 74.8% decline in FCA car production was overshadowed by strong increases in Honda (+54.0%) and Kia (+54.4%) car assemblies. U.S. light-truck output jumped 20.4% over last February to 697,328 units.

After three months of growth, production in Mexico slowed, falling 3.9% to 270,548 LVs, in February. This was due, in part, by double-digit declines in FCA and General Motors production.

Overall, North American car production was up 4.5% to 588,772 builds. The luxury-car segment alone grew 29.8%, while the large-car total fell 8.4%.

Growth continued in light-truck production, which was up 18.5% on a total of 929,242 units. The van segment witnessed the biggest gain, rising 32.4% with 85,972 units.

Several automakers recorded best-ever February totals, including: BMW (+26.8%), Kia (+17.9%), Mercedes-Benz (18.6%) and Nissan (+14.0%).

Honda’s production jumped 43.1% over year-ago to 175,435 units, a record-high for February and the second-best output of any month.

In total, North American LV production was up 7.4% in the first two months of 2016 with 2,878,789 units.

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