Mazda Motor hopes for China JV with 50% stake -CEO

Shanghai, July 1 (Gasgoo.com) Japanese carmaker Mazda Motor's CEO said today that he wanted a joint venture in China in which his company would hold the maximum 50% stake, rather than the 15% it now owns in a three-way venture, Reuters reported.

"Ideally, we would have a joint venture with a 50 percent stake," Mazda Chief Executive Takashi Yamanouchi told reporters in Tokyo. Sources had told Reuters in May that Ford and Mazda both wanted separate joint ventures with Changan, holding a 50 percent stake each.

Mazda has said it is awaiting China's regulatory approval to restructure the company's current joint venture with Ford Motor Co and Chongqing Changan Automobile. Earlier news reports also said that Mazda Motor is planning to set up a new joint venture with another Chinese partner FAW Group.

The plan for a 50-50 joint venture comes after Mazda and its partner Ford Motor are set to split their three-way joint venture in China with Changan Auto by operating separate JVs with the Chinese automaker. Meanwhile, Mazda's minor role in its partnership with FAW Group has slowed its expansion in the Chinese market.

The fifth-largest Japanese carmaker entered China in 2003 when it started making the Mazda 6 through a technical cooperation with FAW Group. A new venture will likely help Mazda to boost its sales and share in the fast-growing Chinese market.