Volkswagen exploring joining hands with Suzuki Motors

German automaker Volkswagen today indicated it was exploring "areas of cooperation" with Suzuki Motors in India for manufacturing smaller cars.

"We need a car below 'Polo' to extend our market share in India. We are happy about our cooperation with Suzuki Motors which has just started, and will look for common approaches and synergies on long term strategic issues," Prof Jochem Heizmann, Volkswagen Group Board member said while interacting with the media after the roll-out of the company's first "Polo" at its Chakan plant near here.

While stating that there were no "concrete projects" defined so far by the two auto majors, he said, "We complement each other well and there is a big potential for common approaches".

Asked to specify the areas of possible cooperation between Volkswagen and Suzuki in India, Heizmann said it could be in the field of "hybrid and electric" car manufacturing technology for which Suzuki is known.

"Suzuki is strong in India and Japan, while Volkswagen has a strong presence in Europe, China and South America," he added.