The Financial Post reports in its Saturday, Aug. 23, edition that vehicle sales in Canada are at a record high but our share of North American auto production has fallen to a record low. The Post's Kristine Owram writes that the industry's future is murky at best, since production commitments made by General Motors and Chrysler Group as part of their $13.7-billion bailouts are set to expire at the end of 2016. That leaves GM and Chrysler free to close plants and let workers go if they see fit. Magna International chief executive officer Don Walker says: "We're fighting an uphill battle. ... We need to focus on keeping the assembly plants we've got." There are many reasons for the decline, but the simple explanation is that the industry's centre of gravity has shifted southwards. Mexico and Tennessee have replaced Michigan and Ontario as the North American auto industry's go-to factory locales. Canada's share of North American auto production fell to a record low of 14 per cent in 2013 while Mexico's has risen to about 20 per cent. Five Canadian assembly plants have closed since the turn of the century and only one has opened. Meanwhile, total auto industry employment has fallen about 33 per cent since 2001.