‘Pivotal’ Alliance
February 23, 2010, 2:21 AM EST
By Kiyori Ueno and Yuki Hagiwara
Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Mazda Motor Corp., 11 percent owned by Ford Motor Co., plans to increase production capacity in China to meet growing demand in the world’s biggest car market.
“We need to expand current capacity when we look into next year and the year after,” Chief Financial Officer Kiyoshi Ozaki said in an interview yesterday in Tokyo. Ozaki declined to say by how much the company planned to boost output capacity.
Mazda may follow Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. in increasing its ability to make cars in China after the country passed the U.S. as the world’s largest auto market last year. Hiroshima-based Mazda aims to boost China sales 22 percent this year as economic growth spurs demand.
The carmaker has a venture in China with Ford and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., which operates two plants. Mazda also makes cars though its local partner FAW Car Co. In total, the Japanese automaker produced 173,788 vehicles in China last year.
Mazda aims to sell 220,000 vehicles in China this year, the company said in January. Third-quarter vehicle sales rose 68 percent in China last year.
FAW shares jumped as much as 7.6 percent, the biggest intra-day gain since Dec. 9, to close at 22.24 yuan in Shenzhen. Mazda shares fell 0.9 percent to 228 yen in Tokyo.
Honda’s Chinese venture with Dongfeng Motor Group Co. said last month it will invest 1.15 billion yuan ($168 million) to build a second plant in the country, which will begin production in the second half of 2012.
Nissan is spending 5 billion yuan to expand a plant in Guangdong province to increase production to 600,000 vehicles annually from 430,000.
‘Pivotal’ Alliance
Mazda’s alliance with Ford will continue to be “pivotal,” Ozaki said yesterday. “Ford needs Mazda and we need Ford.” Still, Mazda is open to forming a partnership with other automakers for individual car development, Ozaki said.
Ford cut its stake in Mazda to 11 percent from 33 percent in 2008 as the Dearborn, Michigan-based carmaker sold shares to raise cash amid a credit crunch.
Mazda President Takashi Yamanouchi said earlier this month that the two companies reconfirmed their partnership when he met with Ford CEO Alan Mulally at the end of last year and the two are jointly developing a product.
Mark Fields, Ford’s president for the Americas, said on Dec. 3 that the U.S. carmaker intends to go it alone for future models after decades of developing vehicle platforms with the Japanese affiliate.
Mazda expects a net loss of 9 billion yen ($98 million) in the year ending March 31, compared with an earlier loss estimate of 17 billion yen