Ford, Toyota Heads Meet in Tokyo

Washington DC January 2, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that Ford's CEO Alan Mulally and Mark Fields, Ford's President of the Americas, visited Toyota Chairman Fujio Cho and other top Toyota executives in Tokyo last Wednesday in a meeting described by Toyota as a "courtesy call," according to a story in The New York Times.

While no details from the meeting have been disclosed by either party, officials from the two automakers, as well as Japanese media that first reported on the meeting, indicated the talks had focused on the development of environmentally friendly technology, like hybrid-electric and hydrogen fuel systems, as well as on ways that Toyota could help Ford improve its manufacturing efficiency.

Ford suffered a third-quarter loss of $5.8 billion in North America. According to one Toyota executive, Mr. Cho is concerned about Ford's financial situation: "If he can do anything to help them out of this, he would like to," the executive said.