Ford CEO Mark Fields has said that Ford is not interested in a tie-up with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), following reports that FCA chief CEO Sergio Marchionne sees Ford as one of a number of potential merger candidates.
A Reuters report said that Fields – speaking in Beijing – largely repeated recent statements and told journalists that the focus for Ford is its current business plan: "I can just say we have no interest other than executing our plan, delivering product excellence and driving innovation in every part of our business. That is our sole focus."
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A recent report suggested that Sergio Marchionne now views the short-list of potential FCA suitors as down to Toyota, Volkswagen and Ford.
Marchionne is keen to reduce the number of players in the auto industry and share the high costs of building greener and more intelligent cars, exploiting scale economies. He has made no secret of his preference for FCA to be part of a larger group and has made overtures to a number of OEMs. Last year he was rebuffed by General Motors.
Reuters reported that Fields also said the company sees 23.5m to 25.5m vehicle sales for the overall Chinese market this year, representing flat to slight growth over 2015.
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