TORONTO -- Government and auto industry officials are discussing increasing auto production in Canada to three million vehicles a year within the next few years, sources at a meeting of the Canadian Automotive Partnership Council (CAPC) said yesterday.

The group -- composed of auto makers, parts company representatives and officials from the federal, Ontario and Quebec governments -- have identified eight areas where they will set specific targets that the industry will try to meet.

One target developed by a committee established to create a strategic vision for the industry is that Canada's vehicle production again amount to 15 per cent of North American sales, sources at the meeting said.

At current rates of production, that would be about three million vehicles annually and would equal the record year for Canadian production, which was 1999.

Production has slumped since it hit that level, falling to 2.5 million vehicles in 2001. Auto makers cranked out 2.6 million cars, trucks, minivans and sport utility vehicles in Canada last year.

Setting a target that production match 15 per cent of North American sales means vehicle output would grow as sales increase, said one source at the meeting.

Setting targets for production, minimum levels of research and development, output by parts makers and other areas "really increases the pressure on governments," one source said.

"The industry, too, is going to be held accountable."

To reach the three-million figure again, Canada would have to maintain existing assembly plants and perhaps attract new ones or increase capacity utilization at such underused facilities as Cami Automotive Inc., a joint General Motors Corp.-Suzuki Motor Co. Ltd. assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont.

Sources said the group rejected the idea of creating an auto investment board, which was one of the recommendations of the strategic vision committee.

Instead, CAPC co-chair Michael Grimaldi said, the discussion centred on making sure companies looking at Canada know what government programs are available.

"We think there's a lot of opportunity to grow the automotive components business," added Mr. Grimaldi, president of General Motors of Canada Ltd.

Joe Cordiano, Ontario's new Minister of Economic Development, said he wants governments to take what he called a Team Canada approach to attracting new automotive investment.

"We're going to go out there and seek new investment for the auto sector," Mr. Cordiano said.

Participants said there has been a dramatic change in the government's attitude toward the industry since CAPC was set up last year, particularly on the part of Federal Industry Minister Allan Rock.

"Allan was bragging about the Navistar thing he put together," one source said, referring to a move by Navistar International Corp. to reverse a decision to close a heavy-truck manufacturing plant in Chatham, Ont.