News In Brief

US auto production 33% higher in 1983

Car production in the US during 1983 reached its highest level in four years, rising more than 33 percent to 6,780,912 from 5,071,798 the previous year, the companies said Tuesday.

At General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, annual production figures were the best since 1979. The smaller American Motors, of which Renault of France owns 46 .4 percent, said 1983 was its best year for building cars since 1975.

The rise illustrated the American auto industry's recovery from its previous state of depression, though analysts say the figures by themselves are considered modest in historical context.