Toyota, Ford in alliance talks

TOKYO, MARCH 19. Japan's biggest carmaker, Toyota Motor Corporation, and the U.S auto giant Ford Motor Co are in talks on joining forces in areas including financial services and low emission cars, The Asian Wall Street Journal said today.

The newspaper quoted Toyota president Mr. Fujio Cho as saying the two companies have been exploring ''areas where we could help each other and cooperate''.

The report said the two are in the early stages of talks on developing gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles, which produce less- harmful emissions than normal gasoline-powered engines, and on financial services.

Toyota hopes to more than double its operating profit from financial services after its establishment last year of a finance subsidiary concentrating on auto loans, the newspaper said.

The Asahi Shimbun daily said on Saturday that Toyota will form an alliance with Ford on supplying minicars.

The report said Toyota will supply as early as 2002 minicars manufactured by its subsidiary Daihatsu Motor Co to Mazda Motor Corp, which is 33.3 per cent owned by Ford.

No immediate comment was available from Toyota and Ford.

- Retuers

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Section  : Business
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