Nissan Motor Co. and its partner Renault SA of France are interested in acquiring South Korean carmaker Ssangyong Motor Co. to expand their group's production capacity in South Korea, sources familiar with the matter said Friday.
The Nissan-Renault alliance is expected to be among seven firms including an Indian carmaker interested in having a stake in Ssangyong Motor, with the bidding set to be held by August, the sources said.
The race among the automakers to purchase Ssangyong Motor comes as the company, one of South Korea's top five carmakers, is seeing sluggish sales amid the global economic slump. Ssangyong Motor filed for bankruptcy protection in January last year.
A Nissan spokesperson has declined to comment on the company's buyout plan.
Renault is the parent company of Renault Samsung Motors Corp. which, according to the South Korean automobile manufacturers association, ranked third in South Korea in terms of domestic sales in 2009, behind Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp.
The envisioned plan by Nissan and Renault to ally with the South Korean firm reflects growing moves by automakers worldwide to realign themselves which may involve South Korean and Chinese automakers as the economic downturn has dented auto demand.
