The chairmen of DaimlerChrysler AG said Friday they opened tieup talks with Nissan Motor Co. Thursday night, but refused to divulge details of their discussions with Nissan President Yoshikazu Hanawa.
Nissan Motor, which is struggling with restructuring efforts, is now exploring the possibility of tying up with foreign automakers, including selling over a one-third stake in the company.
At a news conference in Tokyo, DaimlerChrysler Cochairman Juergen E. Schrempp said his firm is targeting Asia as "a future source of between 20 and 25 percent of DaimlerChrysler's revenue."
The firm will not rule out taking equity stakes in local automakers to increase sales in Asia, Schrempp indicated. But he stressed that talks with Nissan are still ongoing and nothing has been decided, adding discussion of these topics will continue in the near future.
Schrempp and Robert J. Eaton, the other cochairman of the German-U.S. automaker, are here to host the company's first auto exhibition in Tokyo since its formation in November.
Eaton predicted that further major mergers and consolidations will take place in the world auto industry, given the "tremendous amount of excess capacity" producing more automobiles than there is demand for.
The excess capacity of the industry is now between 20 million and 23 million units, according to Eaton. "(The situation) is not expected to change significantly over the next three years," he said. "I really believe consolidation and restructuring of the industry is inevitable."