Color us confused. General Motors recently divested itself of the vast majority of its Suzuki stock, and the two have been severing ties left and right, including official word on Chevrolet of Japan's fortunes in Suzuki's network earlier today. But in contrarian fashion, Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun is reporting that the two automakers are planning on jointly developing hybrid vehicles with an eye toward North America in 2009.

The vehicles are said to be in the SUV mold (crossovers?) with engines in the three-liter size range.

Is this a credible rumor? As we said, it strikes us as more than a bit odd given recent events, but it might not be a bad shake for either manufacturer (and GM still holds a three percent stake in 'Zuki), so all bets are off.

[Sources: AFX News Limited via Forbes; AMotor.no]

GM to co-develop and sell hybrids with Suzuki in North America? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Jun 2006 17:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.