Ford, Mazda aim to break up 3-way China joint venture: Sources

Ford Motor and its China venture partners, Mazda Motor Corp and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co, are seeking Chinese government approval to end their three-way tie up, two sources said on Thursday.

Ford and Mazda will each plan to set up their own separate joint ventures with Changan, the sources with direct knowledge of the plans told Reuters, adding that it was unclear when the government was expected to make a decision.

Ford is set to own half of its new two-way venture with Changan, the sources said, while the Mazda-Changan tie-up will probably also be a 50-50 JV.

The future of the Changan-Ford-Mazda partnership had been in focus since Ford cut its controlling one-third stake in Mazda to 13 percent in 2008 to free up cash.

The termination of the Changan-Ford-Mazda partnership is unrelated to Ford's plans to sell its Volvo car unit to China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co, parent of Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd, the sources said.

The three companies all declined to comment on the issue.