Report: Suzuki not interested in selling larger stake to Volkswagen

Volkswagen currently holds a 19.9-percent stake in Suzuki, making the German automaker the largest shareholder in the much smaller Japanese automaker. Will VW try to increase its stake in Suzuki in the future? Not if it's up to Suzuki CEO Osamu Suzuki.

Automotive News reports that Suzuki (the CEO) told members of the Foreign Correspondents' Club that the company his wife's grandfather founded isn't interested in VW taking a piece of the pie "when Suzuki becomes a bigger and more successful company." Suzuki told reporters that his response to VW's request for a larger stake in the company will likely be "let's continue as we are."

Suzuki has reason for thinking about a good answer to VW's potential approach for more shares due to the fact that the German automaker is growing like a boiling wienerschnitzel. The People's Carmaker already possesses 11 brands ranging from Škoda to Lamborghini, and Suzuki says his company has no interest in becoming number 12. Good thing Suzuki said as much, since VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech has reportedly said that he was interested in growing VW's stable of brands to an even dozen.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req. | Image: Lennart Preiss/AFP/Getty]

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