Mazda to Sell Ford-Built Hybrid SUV in U.S. by June
By Naoko Fujimura and Tetsuya Komatsu
Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Mazda Motor Corp. said it will sell a gasoline-electric hybrid version of the Tribute sport-utility vehicle built by partner Ford Motor Co. to meet growing demand for hybrid autos in the U.S.
Mazda plans to introduce the Tribute hybrid in the second quarter of this year, said Daniel Morris, senior managing executive officer in charge of marketing, sales and customer service, in an interview yesterday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Mazda, the fifth-largest Japanese automaker, will join its bigger rivals in the gasoline-electric market. Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. account for about 90 percent of U.S. hybrid sales. Nissan Motor Co. plans to introduce a hybrid version of its Altima next month.
``Offering hybrids is important to meet consumers' tastes in the U.S.,'' said Hitoshi Yamamoto, who manages the equivalent of $1 billion in Japanese equities as president of Commerz International Capital Management (Japan) Ltd. in Tokyo.
Ford will build the Tribute hybrid, to be based on its own Escape model, at a factory in Kansas City, Missouri, Morris said. Mazda is one-third owned by Ford.
Fuel Prices
Regular gasoline averaged $2.57 a gallon at the pump in the U.S. in 2006, 13 percent more than in 2005, according to weekly U.S. Energy Department surveys.
story continued
Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Mazda Motor Corp. said it will sell a gasoline-electric hybrid version of the Tribute sport-utility vehicle built by partner Ford Motor Co. to meet growing demand for hybrid autos in the U.S.
Mazda plans to introduce the Tribute hybrid in the second quarter of this year, said Daniel Morris, senior managing executive officer in charge of marketing, sales and customer service, in an interview yesterday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Mazda, the fifth-largest Japanese automaker, will join its bigger rivals in the gasoline-electric market. Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. account for about 90 percent of U.S. hybrid sales. Nissan Motor Co. plans to introduce a hybrid version of its Altima next month.
``Offering hybrids is important to meet consumers' tastes in the U.S.,'' said Hitoshi Yamamoto, who manages the equivalent of $1 billion in Japanese equities as president of Commerz International Capital Management (Japan) Ltd. in Tokyo.
Ford will build the Tribute hybrid, to be based on its own Escape model, at a factory in Kansas City, Missouri, Morris said. Mazda is one-third owned by Ford.
Fuel Prices
Regular gasoline averaged $2.57 a gallon at the pump in the U.S. in 2006, 13 percent more than in 2005, according to weekly U.S. Energy Department surveys.
story continued
posted by anthony m, at Monday, January 08, 2007
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