Mazda and Ford Plan Common Chassis

12/27/96

Kyodo reports that a Mazda spokesman has said that Mazda and Ford are considering using a common chassis to make Mazda's Capella and Ford's Mondeo subcompact cars, although the plan has not been formally approved by the companies' managements.

A Ford Japan spokesman said that Ford sold more than 400,000 Mondeos globally in 1995, and that total sales of Ford vehicles using the Mondeo chassis (including the Contour and the Mystique) amounted to 652,000 that year.

The spokesman also said he said he could not confirm a report that said Mazda proposed to make Ford Mondeos at its Hofu factory in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan. Mazda's spokesman also said the companies "have not yet made up their minds" to produce the Mondeo at the Hofu factory. Last week a Japanese newspaper reported that Mazda asked Ford to allow it to make the popular Mondeos in Hofu; Ford currently makes Mondeos at its Belgian plant in Genk.

Mazda's spokesman said the Hofu plant was not operating at capacity, and last week Mazda President Henry Wallace announced that Mazda was planning to make a redesigned car at Hofu, while another Mazda spokesman said that the redesigned car would be a Capella.

The spokesmen said that the companies haven't decided whether to make Mondeos in Hofu or in Genk, even if the plan to have the Mondeo and Capella share the same chassis is approved.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel