Ford hopes China easing will speed up Zotye venture approval

[April 25, 2018]   BEIJING (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co's <F.N> Asia head said on Wednesday he hoped recent Chinese moves to relax ownership rules in the country's auto market would speed up regulatory approval for its electric vehicle joint venture with local firm Zotye Automobile Co Ltd <000980.SZ>.

The Ford logo is pictured on the company's stand during the 88th Geneva International Motor Show in Geneva, Switzerland, March 7, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

Asia Pacific President Peter Fleet, speaking at an auto show in Beijing, also said the U.S. carmaker did not expect the rule changes to otherwise significantly impact its strategy in China, the world's largest auto market.

China said this month it would scrap a limit on foreign ownership of all automotive ventures by 2022 in a major policy shift to open up the market, with limits on new-energy vehicle (NEV) ventures to be removed this year.

(Reporting by Aditi Shah; Writing Adam JourdanEditing by Christopher Cushing)

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.