September 24, 2006	Sunday	Sha'aban 30, 1427

TOKYO, Sept 23: Auto giants Nissan Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. are unlikely to form a capital alliance, a newspaper said on Saturday. Nissan will also develop its own fuel-efficient hybrid cars for introduction in 2010, it said.

Japan’s largest newspaper, the Yomiuri Shimbun, quoted unnamed officials as saying Nissan is unlikely to invest in GM because of reluctance on the part of the US automaker, whose US sales have shown signs of a recovery following a restructuring programme.

GM’s employees and labour union have also voiced opposition to the possible capital linkup with the Nissan-Renault group, the report said.

Renault owns a 44 per cent stake in Nissan, which in turn holds 15 per cent of the French car maker. Nissan-Renault started talks with GM earlier this year to explore a possible mega-alliance.

GM could still cooperate with the French-Japanese group in procuring auto parts and materials, the report said.

Calls to Nissan headquarters in Tokyo went unanswered on Saturday.—AP