Mazda CEO : No Change In Relationship with Ford

TOKYO, Oct 30, 2008; Chang-Ran Kim writing for Reuters reported that the head of Mazda Motor Corp said today that he did not expect any change in the Japanese automaker's relationship with Ford Motor Co, amid reports that the struggling U.S. automaker would sell part of its controlling stake.

"We've had a relationship with Ford since the 1970s," CEO Hisazaku Imaki told a news conference.

"Our ties are so close that you can't tell how much of the company is Mazda and how much of it is Ford. We don't expect that there will be any change in this relationship."