Ford has no plans to part ways with Mazda

The once-proud American brands, which used to buy outright or partially acquire other brands, have turned their portfolios upside down and let go of every last share they held in other companies, selling them off. We have seen it with Volvo, with Saab, we came close to seeing it with Opel, and not even the all-powerful Hummer has come through entirely unscathed, to name just a few.

The Mazda-Ford relationship began in 1979, with Ford holding 25% control of Mazda, before rising to 33% from 1996. At the end of 2008, Ford sold 20% of its stake in order to obtain liquidity in the face of economic difficulties, leaving it with 13%, and recently it has been reduced to 11%. Although we speak of Ford Motor Co. owning a share of Mazda, the truth is that Ford has always drawn on the technology of some of the Japanese brand’s models to build its own (Ford Fiesta-Mazda2).

But in case there was any doubt over whether Ford will keep its stake in Mazda, the answer came from John Fleming, Ford’s head of external affairs, who said that they were very happy with Mazda and that the future relationship will carry on.

In this way, Fleming silenced the talk of a sale that had surfaced as far back as 2008. Following the recovery Ford began last year, if they had ever considered selling what they held in Mazda, there is now no doubt. Mazda will remain hand in hand with Ford. Or is it the other way round?

Source | Automotive News