Ford Motor Co. acknowledged that its top executive had met with leaders of Japan's Toyota, but gave no indication of the nature of the discussions. The number two US automaker said in a statement on its website that chief executive Alan Mulally met with Toyota's leadership.
"We meet regularly with other automakers on a variety of topics of mutual interest," the statement said.
The announcement came after Toyota confirmed in Japan that its chairman, Fujio Cho, and Mulally met last week in Tokyo.
The meeting raised speculation that the fast-growing Japanese automaker, expected to overtake General Motors in 2007 as the world's biggest, will tie up with the ailing Detroit giant.
One report said Ford wanted to capitalize on Toyota's know-how in environmentally friendly cars, which were pioneered by Japan's top automaker and have proved a major hit in the key US market.
The Detroit News said a source familiar with the talks characterized them as "preliminary" and limited to cooperation between the automakers, downplaying speculation about a deeper alliance.
