Mazda to take stake in Chinese firm

Mazda to take stake in Chinese firm

BEIJING: Mazda Motor will take a stake in the joint venture between its parent Ford Motor and China's Chongqing Changan Motor, paving the way for the production of the Japanese automaker's cars, state press reported on Tuesday.

"Mazda will have equity relations with our joint venture under Ford's requirements," Changan president Yin Jiaxu told the China Daily.

Changan will retain its 50 percent stake in the joint venture, Changan Ford Automobile Corp, which was set up three years ago in the southwestern city of Chongqing to make the U.S.-based company's Fiesta and Mondeo models.

The report did not reveal how much of Ford's 50 percent holding will be sold to Mazda, in which the U.S. carmaker holds a 33.4 percent stake.

Mazda already has a cooperation agreement with Changan rival First Automotive Works Corp, the country's largest vehicle producer, which makes Mazda brand cars under a licensing deal at plants in Hainan and Jilin provinces.

The Japanese carmaker produces the Mazda Premacy minivan, Mazda 323 subcompact car and the M6 in China. -- AFP