Shifting Gears

Shifting gears The shortage of crucial vehicle electronic parts from Japan has meant major headaches, and now reduced production, for the North American plants that manufacture cars. Honda is the first auto maker to enact system-wide production cuts in North America, just as it's preparing to roll out a redesigned version of the company's workhorse vehicle, the Civic. > 2012 Honda Civic Si Coupe CANADIAN PRODUCTION IN FEBRUARY 41,471 23,245 Toyota Honda TEN-YEAR CANADIAN PRODUCTION TEN-YEAR CANADIAN EXPORTS In thousands In thousands 500 400 459,040 - 371,682 350 Honda 400 Honda 300 300 250 200 Toyota 278,272 Toyota 150 200 218,620 100 '00 ''10 100 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '02 '04 '08 '10 90, CANADIAN PASSENGER CARS MARKET SHARE - Mitsubishi: 1% -Subaru: 1.9% -Nissan: 7.6% Japanese 40.3% -Mazda: 8.4% -Honda: 9.5% Big Three Other 22.4% Feb. 2011 37.3% -Toyota: 11.5% Figures do not add up due to rounding THE GLOBE AND MAIL » SOURCES: JAPAN AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION OF CANADA; WARD'S; HONDA