Ford Motor Co. will build a new small pickup truck for Mazda Motor Corp. beginning in two years, Ford Chairman Harold Poling said.
The move will enable Mazda to sell new trucks in the United States and avoid import tariffs.It is the third vehicle production project between the two companies. Ford, the No. 2 automaker behind General Motors Corp., has owned 25 percent of Mazda since 1972.
Poling, speaking at an automotive management seminar, said the as-yet-unnamed pickup will be made at Ford's assembly plant in Edison, N.J., where the Ranger pickup is made now. He said Ford will be responsible for development and engineering, and Mazda will contribute styling and technical work for the new truck.
The new pickups will look different from the Ranger and contain different equipment, he added.
There was no immediate indication of how many pickups Mazda would receive from the Edison plant.
Ford has made the Navajo sport utility vehicle for Mazda at Ford's Louisville assembly plant in Kentucky since August 1990. Mazda has made the Ford Probe at its factory in Flat Rock, Mich., since 1988.
For 10 years starting in 1971, Mazda made the Ford Courier small pickup truck based on the Mazda Proceed. Those vehicles were made in Japan and exported to the United States.
Mazda now imports to the United States its B-series of small pickup trucks from Japan. By marketing a U.S.-built pickup, Mazda can avoid a 25 percent tariff on each imported truck.
Associations between U.S. and Japanese automakers have been deepening. Ford and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. are preparing to begin production of a minivan at a new plant in Avon Lake, Ohio.
Other U.S.-Japanese deals include the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant owned by General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. in Fremont, Calif.; and Diamond-Star Motors Corp., a joint project between Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Chrysler Corp. in Illinois.