HIROSHIMA (Kyodo) Mazda Motor Corp. President Takashi Yamanouchi said Monday that he and Alan Mulally, president of Ford Motor Co., agreed last month to continue their capital and business alliance.
Yamanouchi told a news conference he paid a call on Mulally at the Ford headquarters in December, and the two chief executive officers confirmed there will be no change to the firms' tieup despite the realignment taking place in the global auto industry.
Ford intends to maintain its 11 percent stake in Mazda and said its partial sale of Mazda stocks in fall 2008 was due to Ford's financial condition and wasn't meant to change the strategic relationship, according to Yamanouchi.