Mazda Shares Rise on Report of Ford Deal

Mazda Motor Corp.’s shares rose as much as 3.2% in Tokyo trading following a report that Japan’s fifth-largest auto maker has agreed to build Ford Motor Co. cars at a plant in Hiroshima, Japan. The Sankei newspaper reported that Hiroshima-based Mazda agreed to make Ford’s Focus compact car at its Hofu plant. The agreement would help support Mazda’s domestic production and would be the first time a Japanese auto maker has built complete vehicles for a foreign manufacturer, the newspaper said. Mazda officials in Tokyo declined to comment on the report. The company’s shares rose to their highest level in more than 11 months in heavy trading volume. The company, 33% owned by Ford, has said it has a “strategy to utilize capacity and so does Ford,” according to Mazda President Mark Fields. Mazda shares gained as much as 9 cents to $2.90, the highest level in more than 11 months. Ford fell 29 cents to close at $28.16 on the New York Stock Exchange.