Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, said Friday the group has yet to decide on whether to accept the proposal of American automaker General Motors Corp. to become a member.
Okuda told a regular news conference that the group, consisting of 13 car and motorcycle manufacturers, initially had planned to come to a conclusion at its board of directors' meeting Thursday.
However, the decision was postponed because JAMA has not yet receive any comments from GM after membership requirement details were explained to a GM official in late February. GM applied for JAMA membership in December.
Whether the association will admit GM will hinge on how the group interprets JAMA articles that require members to be "corporations manufacturing vehicles within Japan."
Although GM is to procure cars from two Japanese affiliates -- Suzuki Motor Corp. and Isuzu Motors Ltd. -- for sale in Japan under GM brands, Okuda previously said that GM was technically not qualified to become a member under JAMA articles.
Meanwhile, the association announced Friday that it will integrate the Japan Motor Industrial Federation by May 2002.
The federation, which consists of 120 members, including automakers, motorcycle manufacturers and car parts makers, has hosted the industry's publicity activities, including the Tokyo Motor Show.