VW to take stake in Suzuki this year, Automobilwoche reports

FRANKFURT (Reuters) — Volkswagen AG, Europe’s largest carmaker, is expected to take a stake in Japan’s Suzuki Motor Co. by the end of 2009, according to Automotive New Europe sister publication Automobilwoche, which cited an unnamed Suzuki executive in a story due to be published Monday.
“We expect that there will be a basic agreement this year,” Automobilwoche quoted the executive as saying on the sidelines of this year’s Frankfurt auto show.

“For Suzuki and VW this connection would be a win-win situation. Suzuki would have access to a variety of VW’s technology, while Volkswagen would have a solid supporting leg in India and Southeast Asia,” the manager said.

Volkswagen declined to comment on the report while Suzuki Germany was not immediately available for comment.

There has been speculation previously that VW would be interested in a partnership with Suzuki and a person familiar with the matter had told Reuters in August that talks had take place.

Last Monday, VW’s CEO Martin Winterkorn said that the product portfolio of Suzuki would fit well with that of VW, declining to comment further.

Mixed messages
Last month, Winterkorn told Germany’s Manager Magazin that Suzuki “would be an interesting partner because of its competency in small cars.”

The magazine said, without citing sources, that Volkswagen was interested in taking a 10 percent stake in Suzuki or forming a joint venture.

Suzuki’s CEO Osamu Suzuki had told media in late June that he had had no contact with VW, shooting down a separate Manager Magazin report at the time that VW was exploring a deal with its Japanese rival to boost its presence in ultra small cars.

By the end of this year, VW aims to complete a deal to buy a 42 percent in Porsche Automobil Holding SE’s sports car business, Porsche AG, for 3.3 billion euros ($4.85 billion at current exchange rates) as a step toward a full merger of the carmakers.

The transaction is set to make Porsche the 10th brand in Volkswagen’s camp, which ranges from small cars to heavy trucks.