MattMPS

Not capital sharing involved, possible an annoncement today, maybe Mazda will produce a mx-5 version for Alfa.


http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...84M05W20120523


Mazda in talks with Fiat on business tie-up: source


(Reuters) - Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T) is in talks with Fiat SpA (FIA.MI) to form a business tie-up, a source said, as the loss-making Japanese automaker seeks a revival path after losing its strategic partnership with Ford Motor Co (F.N).
A deal with Fiat will not involve any exchange of capital, the source told Reuters, declining to be identified because the information is not public.
A spokesman at Mazda, Japan's fifth-largest carmaker, said the company was due to make an announcement later on Wednesday. He declined to say if it concerned a tie-up with Fiat, news of which was first reported by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. Fiat was not immediately available for comment.
Mazda posted its fourth straight year of losses last year as it struggles with a strong yen, which makes its cars less competitive overseas. The company builds most of its cars in Japan, exporting almost 80 percent of that.
Mazda's shares jumped on the report, reversing earlier losses to gain 2.8 percent in mid-afternoon trade in Tokyo.
Fiat, for its part, has been looking for more automotive alliances after taking control of Chrysler - particularly an Asian partner to help it reach global sales of 6 million vehicles in 2014.
Asked specifically about a possible alliance with Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp (7269.T) or Mazda, Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne had said in February those were among the many opportunities to explore.
RISING R&D BURDEN
Automakers around the world have been forging both equity and non-equity partnerships to share the rising burden of research and development as governments tighten environmental and safety regulations, and to lower costs amid stiffer competition.
Mazda, the maker of the Mazda3, MX-5 and other sporty cars, is among the few automakers with no strategic capital alliance after Ford sold down its controlling one-third stake starting in 2008. After a nearly $2 billion share offering earlier this year, Ford's stake has fallen to a nominal 2 percent.
The NHK said Mazda would start by supplying its MX-5/Roadster to Fiat for sale under the premium Alfa Romeo brand. The partners would explore other possibilities for cooperation, including sharing Mazda's fuel-efficient engines and its expertise in vehicle weight reduction, it said.
(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim and Taro Fuse; Editing by Michael Watson and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

kvndoom

Hmmm, wonder if that would get Mazda into Dodge dealerships?

ASH8

No Longer a rumor but FACT!

http://www.mazdausamedia.com/content...ration-program

ASH8

Mazda and Fiat to announce co-operation program

Mazda Motor Corporation (Mazda) and Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. (Fiat) have signed a

non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development and manufacturing

of a new roadster for the Mazda and Alfa Romeo marques based on Mazda's

next-generation MX-5 rear-wheel-drive architecture.


The study calls for both Mazda and Fiat to develop two differentiated, distinctly styled, iconic

and brand-specific light weight, roadsters featuring rear-wheel drive. The Mazda and Alfa

Romeo variants will each be powered by specific proprietary engines unique to each brand.

The project assumption is that both vehicles will be manufactured at Mazda's Hiroshima,

Japan, plant with production for Alfa Romeo envisaged starting in 2015.


"Establishing technology and product development alliances is one of Mazda's corporate

objectives and this announcement with Fiat is an important first step in that direction. It is

especially exciting to be collaborating with such a prestigious marque as Alfa Romeo on a

new roadster based on the next-generation MX-5, which is such an iconic vehicle for Mazda

and recognized as the best-selling roadster of all time." said Takashi Yamanouchi, Mazda's

Representative Director and Chairman of the Board, President and CEO.

"This agreement clearly demonstrates our commitment to Alfa Romeo and the

determination to grow it into a truly global brand. By partnering with Mazda, we will be

co-operating with the recognized leader in compact rear-drive vehicle architectures in order

to deliver an exciting and stylish roadster in the Alfa Romeo tradition.

We are appreciative of this collaboration with Mazda and look forward to maintaining

a fruitful and continuous relationship." said Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne.


The Final Agreement is expected to be signed in the second-half of 2012.

Mazda and Fiat have also agreed to discuss further opportunities for co-operation in Europe.

ASH8

Tells you everything when the Italians have to go to Mazda to make/develop a proper Roadster....

A feather in Mazda's cap.

Mazda stock goes up 0.93%

Fiat Spa down 2.17%

bse50

It's a huge advantage for Fiat... they're using Chrysler engines and Chassis to put ugly monsters (fiat freemont, lancia thema) on the road while bastardizing good compact cars (lancia ypsilon) with their chrysler counterparts.
Mazda doesn't really need to build its own competitor for the european market imho but at least that means a steady income... If Fiat doesn't fold on itself and manages to actually pay them

ASH8

It is actually for Alfa Romeo product...again the Italian's cant make a proper RWD Roadster.
Mazda has plenty of capacity, so why not.

I initially though it as bad news, until I read it properly, that is will be a Mazda design and made Roadster.

I don't want FIAT-ALFA or Chrysler with their grubby dirty hands on Mazda, or crap parts.

bse50

We stopped making good "human" cars around 20 years ago, except for compacts. The Chrysler breed is making things even worse. Huge cars \ **** chassis for a market that doesn't really need them. the thema is a 300c, the freemont is some other abomination.
Stupid, stupid, stupid move, Fiat should have just used the Chrysler brand to sell compacts in the states, period.
We still make good 1\1.4l engines that are a perfect fit for a compact car (panda, 500, punto) so why take something as useless as a big american product? The other way around makes much more sense.

It's true that Mazda has got everything to win but most people will pay the premium price for the Alfa badge... "it's an alfa it must be better". Italians already do it with the audi a3... they deem it as a superior car than the golf when, in fact, IT IS a golf.

I would take a mazda over any alfa built after the 80s though...

ASH8

Alfa's built before the 80's were a piece of **** too.

Part of my Parts training in the early 70's was to work at Addison Motors in Adelaide, they were the state distributors for Mazda and you guessed it Alfa Romeo....the biggest piece of crap ever made, looked fantastic...we (parts/service) hated them...thank god Albert Ades dropped the marque (Alfa) after about 10 years of crap.

Funny how the world perceives auto product...in Australia we give very little credit to Fiat, Alfa, Renault, Peugeot or Citroen, but in the UK they love them, we love the Japanese cars UK hates them like we hate the French and Italian (Ferrari excluded)...

I am using the word 'hate' loosely..

bse50

Alfas started having problems with the fuel injected models that lacked a distributor. The previous ones were nice cars though.
There was much hype around the 155 back in the day but it was just a shitty fiat tipo with an ugly ***...

However the fact that the cars will be built in japan cannot make me stop laughing.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

yea, it's weird how FIAT is doing with their new "Chrysler buddy"

We in the state knows Chrysler has been making garbage for the past 10-20 years, my uncle had this Dodge Minivan back in 1992 or was it 1994 ? 8 years later it fell apart, it was just a 2-3 miles commute everyday, not the just engine/drivetrain, I'm talking about the whole car, bodypanels rust, whatever. Jeeze, garbage.

usnidc

"By partnering with Mazda, we will be co-operating with
the recognized leader in compact rear-drive vehicle architectures in order to deliver an
exciting and stylish roadster in the Alfa Romeo tradition."

Ha! Toyotabru with their BRZ/FR-S bastard child can suck it...

Mazmart

iTrader: (12)

The news is very exciting indeed. I'm not sure what Fiat is bringing to the table in the r&d process but we'll see.

Now I patiently await the following:

1/ Images of the new Mazda 6 in production trim as well as details regarding output, fuel mileage and configurations offered (4 door, wagon,coupe?).
2/ Images of a new MX-5 concept vehicle with some detail of engine type etc.
3/ Further rotary engine news.
4/ Images of the next (kodo styled) Mazda 3.

This is how I envision the next 18 months of news disclosures from Mazda. Of course I could be horribly wrong .

Paul.

Bladecutter

And for every experience you guys have of Chrysler being crap, someone else has one of Chrysler being great.

My gf bought her PT Cruiser new in 2001, right after their initial release.
Hers is a manual, and has lived its whole life in Colorado.
No rust, no problems, nothing but a fantastic ownership experience, and her dealer that she originally bought it from went out of their way with the initial sales experience (huge red bow on the car, lots of free stuff, free services, etc).
Built in their Mexico plant, even.

Her '08 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster, on the other hand, was built in Germany, by a bunch of overpaid morons, with complete crap parts, and sloppy build, and horrible electronics wiring routing. One single nut on the drivers side fender grounds all the various ecu's, and this one nut wasn't properly tightened by the idiots in Germany, leading to this car blowing part after part, until $12k worth of warranty repairs had been done in its first 6 months of ownership. That's when they finally found the loose nut.

Then, this car had the honor of being the first ever car that my gf has ever had a clutch failure in, at the 9k mile mark, when the pressure plate failed, and took out the flywheel. Then to top that one off, the replacement flywheel, that was shipped from Germany, had a bent tone ring tooth, and wasn't caught before install, and was handed back to us, and immediately would go into limp mode if you used more than 1/4 throttle. Also covered under warranty, thankfully.

She dumped it for her Fiat 500 Sport, built in the same plant as her PT Cruiser (which is sitting next to it in the garage right now), and hasn't had a single problem since she bought it September 3rd, last year.

So, we don't mind putting confidence into Chrysler, as long as they stay away from German, and American builds. Their Mexican plant seems to know what its doing, in the cars that she's bought so far.

BC.

MattMPS

Here in Italy the "santification" (by automotive journalists) of Mazda is started "The hi-tech carmaker started 90 years ago from a cork factory".

There are a lot of toughts about the engine for the car Alfa-badged...currently they have no one engine suitable, maybe this is the meaning of a deadline by 2015 for Alfa spider

zoom44

damn all you overseas and east coasters! i saw this news just now EARLY IN THE MORNING and thought id scoop the forum with it.

this is a WIN for Mazda. What does Fiat Alpha bring to it? some "expertise" as to what their customers want and how to best differentiate the two in the Euro Market plus what engine variants they will want in it so as to help the engineering along.

Paul thats essentially how I see the next year too.

yes indeed

zoom44

im sharing this around titled "Fiat/Alfa admit Mazda is just better"

usnidc

LOL... Yes, and you can add to the quote:

...but one that will actually work.

stinksause

iTrader: (5)

that feel when your alfa is really a miata ...

zoom44

hahhah just had this thought. someone will produce a kit to make the MX-5 look more like the Alfa and it will even come with badges etc

Mazmart

iTrader: (12)

This is the sad part though,

Quote from Sjd on Miata.net: "Those of us that buy Mazda's version will be seen as the inferior cousins to the Alfa version. "

Paul.

stinksause

iTrader: (5)

unless ... Mazda grows a pair and offers 16x option

I want to ... BELIEVE!

Mazmart

iTrader: (12)

Haha! I like your thought process.

Paul.

MariesRX8

I fear Mazda is in danger of losing their identity, with the rotary probably being gone (at least as we know it), and now the Miata becoming less "pure Mazda."

MattMPS

different engines, and different prices IMHO.

i see only a part of the market in direct competion...