Mazda, Ford Study Sharing Engines, Parts, Platforms

TOKYO - Mazda said it was exploring ways of sharing auto parts with Ford, signaling ever deeper ties with the U.S. auto giant.

Mazda, which is one-third owned by Ford, is working on details of the cost-cutting collaboration and said it would decide on specifics by the end of March.

Mazda's long-standing ties with Ford intensified last year when Henry Wallace, a Ford official on loan to Mazda, took over as president at the Japanese carmaker, setting himself the task of steering the troubled firm back to prosperity.

"We have plans to synchronize our cycle for launching new cars with that of Ford and to use common platforms," a Mazda spokesman said.

He said the company was looking at which models of cars should share standard platforms and whether or not engines should be included in the shared-parts effort. A platform comprises a chassis and suspension.

The standardization will help Mazda's drive to improve business efficiency, the spokesman said.

In another sign of closer ties with Ford, the companies also plan to share a new computer network.

Mazda, Japan's fifth-biggest carmaker, said it plans to spend $150 million to build a computer network for three-dimensional product design and engineering as well as for production information. The network, to be completed by 2000, will connect Mazda, Ford and suppliers.

The question of standardizing parts to cut costs was on the table before Ford raised its stake in Mazda last year, the spokesman said.

Ford increased its stake in Mazda to 33.4 percent from 24.54 percent last April, giving it management control. A few months later, Wallace, a Ford official already working at Mazda, took the wheel, becoming the first foreigner to head a major Japanese corporation. Mazda had been suffering from slow exports due to the strong yen and sluggish domestic sales as a result of the weak economy and a lack of exciting new models.

KIA PLANS TO EXPAND SALES, DEALERSHIPS IN U.S.

WASHINGTON - South Korean automaker Kia plans to raise its sales to the U.S. market to more than 70,000 cars from 45,257 last year and to expand its dealerships to 350.

Kia announced its plans at a meeting of about 100 of its U.S. dealers in Washington, D.C., said a company spokesman. Kia will step up its sales and advertisement campaigns in the north and East Coast regions this year to meet the targets.

Kia employees are working overtime to make up for lost production following South Korea's worst labor dispute, which lasted four weeks.

MAJOR AUTO SUPPLIERS TEAM UP FOR BUILT-IN, HANDS-FREE PHONE

DETROIT - Two major auto suppliers are teaming up with a small Colorado company to offer a system installed in new cars to turn any portable cell phone on the market into a hands-free unit.

Lear said it has signed a licensing agreement with CellPort Labs to produce what are called embedded car kits for portable wireless phones. CellPort said it also has a licensing agreement with Prince, a unit of Johnson Controls. Lear and Prince dominate the market for supplying vehicle interiors.

Using the CellPort device, drivers can put their cell phones into a special adapter cup that routes sound from the phone through the vehicle's speaker system, muting the radio or stereo when needed. A microphone, most likely installed in the sun visor, picks up the driver's voice.