The introduction of the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossover vehicles built in Oakville, Ont.. pushed Canada's vehicle assembly output up 1.9 per cent last year despite cutbacks by Chrysler and GM.

Major U.S. automakers have already announced production scale-backs slated for this year, including GM's move to drop a pickup-truck assembly line at its Oshawa, Ont., plant and Chrysler's plans to eliminate a shift at its muscle-sedan plant in nearby Brampton.

In the longer term, Canada's vehicle-assembly industry faces a particular problem that stretches beyond currency and sales concerns: More than two-thirds of all vehicles made here are big fuel-thirsty vehicles, [Dina Cover] said, with more than half of them falling in the category of light trucks.