Ford Motor Co F

Mazda won't capitalise on Toyota re

[goldish]

5:29AM ET on Monday Feb 22, 2010 via Thomson Reuters

(Corrects paragraph 11 to say ... technological tie-up ..., not ... capital tie-up)
* Mazda CFO: not much impact on its sales from Toyota recall
* CFO: no plan to change terms of China JV with Ford
* CFO: would "be nice" to increase JV ownership in future
* Mazda shares up 3.1 percent, vs Nikkei 2.6 pct gain (Adds link to Insider TV clip)
By Kei Okamura and Yumiko Nishitani
TOKYO, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Mazda Motor Corp <7261.T> said it would not launch a special marketing campaign to draw customers away from Toyota Motor <7203.T>, shunning a strategy used by other car makers keen to capitalise on Toyota's recall woes.
Mazda Chief Financial Officer Kiyoshi Ozaki also told Reuters Television that it has not seen much of an impact on its sales from Toyota's global recall of more than 8 million vehicles.
The bulk of the recall has come in the United States, where Mazda holds a 2 percent market share.
"Our U.S. sales representatives have reported that some customers are taking a wait-and-see stance. But I don't expect a direct impact because our clients favour the unique features of our cars and are different from Toyota's clients," Ozaki said.
Ozaki said Mazda, Japan's fifth-largest car maker, would look to boost transparency internally about possible product defects and accelerate the company's response to problems.
"I think these are the two most important tasks, as there will never be zero possibility of a product defect," Ozaki said.
Mazda plans to have auditors and related divisions join management in the discussion of defect claims in an effort to address problems quickly, Ozaki said.
For a link to an Insider TV interview, click: https://link.reuters.com/rex32j
CHINA, FORD
Ozaki said there was no plan to change the terms of its joint venture agreement with Ford Motor <F.N> and China's Chongqing Changan Automobile Co <000625.SZ>, but that "it would be nice" if Mazda could raise its stake in the future to give it more say over the operations.
Mazda and Ford, which holds an 11 percent stake in Mazda, denied last month a newspaper report that they intended to end the joint venture by 2012. <ReutersLink ID='ID:nTOE60H04D' />
Chongqing Changan has a 50 percent stake in the three-way joint venture, with Ford holding 35 percent and Mazda 15 percent.
Ozaki said nothing concrete had been decided on the possibility of Mazda forming a fresh technological tie-up with Ford or another carmaker.
Mazda's ties with Ford have weakened. Ford used to own one-third of Mazda before cutting its stake in 2008.
"I am aware of voices questioning whether Mazda can survive without Ford in the chaotic and uncertain market conditions in the wake of Lehman Brothers' failure. While it's true the market has collapsed, we continue to cooperate with Ford.
"On the other hand, it's also true that we have become freer in making management decisions. Mazda needs to make its own choices and decisions solidly, or we will not be able to survive, or there will be no future for our relation with Ford."
Shares of Mazda rose 3.1 percent to 230 yen, outperforming the Nikkei stock average <.N225>, which gained 2.5 percent. (Reporting by Yumiko Nishitani and Yoshifumi Takemoto)