Volkswagen AG won't decide soon whether to take a stake in Isuzu Motors Ltd., Japan's largest maker of light trucks, said a VW spokesman who asked not to be identified in line with company policy.
Europe's largest auto manufacturer is considering taking a stake or purchasing Isuzu outright, Germany's Manager Magazin reported Wednesday, without citing anyone. Board member Jochem Heizmann has held talks with Isuzu and visited production sites, the magazine said. The VW spokesman declined comment on those parts of the report.
Volkswagen also discussed the possibility of MAN SE acquiring a holding in Isuzu, the magazine said. German truckmaker MAN is 29.9 percent owned by Wolfsburg, Germany-based VW, according to Bloomberg data. Stefan Straub, a spokesman for MAN, declined comment on the report.
VW is aiming to complete a merger with Porsche SE after purchasing 49.9 percent of the company's carmaking unit. Volkswagen also paid $2.5 billion in January 2010 for a 19.9 percent stake in Suzuki Motor Corp. to jointly develop vehicles for emerging markets as it seeks to topple Toyota Motor Corp. as global leader by 2018. Toyota has a 5.9 percent stake in Isuzu, according to Bloomberg data.