Rumour ? FORD to Sell Stake in Mazda ?

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Mazda is close to throwing off its Ford shackles and returning to independent Japanese ownership.

The blue oval brand has signalled its intention to cash-in its 11 per cent stake in the Japanese company, a move which has already triggered a slight fall in Mazda's share price in Tokyo.

There is no confirmation from either side of the move, but Ford has been re-organising its business for more than 18 months including the sale of Volvo - its other major satellite - to Geely of China.

Ford has had a stake in Mazda since the 1970s, but its shareholding grew massively through the 1990s when the Japanese brand was almost bankrupted during an Asian financial crisis. It eventually took a one- third share.

The two companies have had a long series of joint-venture models from the 323-Laser twins to the latest Ford Ranger and Mazda BT50 utes unveiled on Friday at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney.

Mazda Australia is aware of the latest rumours from the USA but has no confirmation of a share deal from Japan and is not expecting any major day-to-day changes.

"It's just speculation. These things pop up from time to time," the managing director of Doug Dickson, says.

"I believe it's just speculation. Ford and Mazda have an ongoing relationship and, really, nothing has changed."

He says any change to the shareholding - if there is one - is unlikely to cause any problems.

"I think the two issues are quite distinct," Dickson says.

"It's just business as usual. There are plenty of joint ventures between companies that don't have any shareholdings. Where it makes sense, the business relationship will continue."

However Ford is denying rumours it plans to sell off its remaining stake in Mazda.

A Ford spokesman in Detroit told US media that while they would not comment on speculation “we continue to have a collaborative relationship with Mazda.”