APRIL 18, 2002

Reitzle leaving Ford!

Wolfgang Reitzle, the head of Ford Motor Company's Premier Automotive Group, is leaving the car industry. He is to be replaced at PAG by Mark Fields, the Ford executive who is currently running Mazda.

WOLFGANG REITZLE, the head of Ford Motor Company's Premier Automotive Group, is leaving the car industry. He is to be replaced at PAG by Mark Fields, the Ford executive who is currently running Mazda. As expected PAG is also going to lose the Lincoln Mercury division which will now come back under the control of Ford's North America. Reitzle is expected to join the German industrial group Linde AG.

The removal of Reitzle throws the whole of the question of Jaguar Racing back into the air and the future of Niki Lauda has head of the Premier Performance Division of PAG must also be under scrutiny.

Fields has been with Mazda for four years and has done a good job to revive the ailing Japanese company, which Ford controls.

The other issue is whether the disappearance of the pro-racing Reitzle will have any effect on the company's involvement in the planned manufacturers World Championship in 2008. Reitzle was one of the major players in the GPWC.