DETROIT — Ford is closer to getting its blue oval out of hock.

Ford Motor mortgaged its logo, along with factories and equipment, in 2006 in exchange for a $23.5 billion restructuring loan. On Tuesday, it got one of the two investment-grade ratings it needs to get those assets back.

Fitch Ratings raised the automaker’s credit from junk status to “BBB minus,” the lowest investment-grade rating. The agency said Ford has repaired its balance sheet and improved its vehicles in recent years, putting it “in a solid position” to withstand any slowdowns in the global auto industry. Now, Ford must wait for one of the other two ratings agencies — Standard & Poor’s or Moody’s — to make a move.

The blue oval, which is recognized worldwide and appears on everything from baseball caps to key chains to an $18 set of scented candles offered on eBay, dates to 1965. Ford began replacing black and white ovals with blue ones that year, according to Ford corporate historian Bob Kreipke.

The script in the center of the logo goes back even further. Harold Wills, a friend of company founder Henry Ford and a draftsman who helped design the first Model T, created the Ford script in 1912 using his grandfather’s stencil set.

Ford’s former chief financial officer, Lewis Booth, who retired April 1, said last month that getting the blue oval back will have an “enormous” psychological impact on the company after its wrenching turnaround.

Ford says it hasn’t placed a value on the logo. But Interbrand, which tracks brand values, said the Ford brand is worth $7.5 billion, and it ranked Ford 50th out of its top 100 brands.