Toyota clarifies on alliance with Ford

Toyota clarifies on alliance with Ford

NAGOYA, Japan (Reuters): Japan's largest automaker Toyota
Motor Corp said on Monday it had no plans for an equity tie-up
with Ford Motor Co but did not rule out some kind of technical
alliance.

The statement followed an announcement last Thursday by Ford,
the world's second-largest automaker, that it had held high-level
talks with Toyota about forming a partnership or alliance to cut
costs.

"We have no plans for an equity tie-up with Ford and we are
not currently in talks with Ford on any technical collaboration,"
Toyota President Fujio Cho told a news conference.

"But we would not deny the future possibility of alliances on
technical issues," he said, mentioning environmental technology
in particular.

Analysts said any alliance between Toyota and Ford on
environmental technology would not be intended as a way to
compete with other big automakers but rather to establish a
standard.

"It seems that they would want to create a de facto standard,
possibly in cooperation with other big players to prevent smaller
companies from coming in," Daiwa Institute of Research analyst
Masato Ogasawara said.

While other Japanese automakers have gone in for strategic
partnerships and capital tie-ups, Toyota has always refrained
from entering into equity alliances.

Automakers worldwide have formed more strategic alliances in
recent years to cut research and development costs, to meet
government regulations on fuel economy and emissions, and to cut
costs on parts and supplies.

Such alliances have taken on added importance as the auto
industry begins to slow in the United States and Europe, analysts
said.