Carmakers to Forge Forces for US Market

German carmaker Volkswagen and rival DaimlerChrysler are in talks over forging an alliance in the key US market, according to industry insiders. The talks center on building a VW minivan for sale in the US. A corresponding report in German business daily Handelsblatt was confirmed by industry sources on Tuesday. Handelsblatt reported that the chief of DaimlerChrysler's north American operations, Dieter Zetsche and VW brand manager Wolfgang Bernhard may sign a deal to build the minivan at next month's Frankfurt motor show. Bernhard previously worked with Zetsche in Detroit at the Chrysler headquarters. Zetsche is to take over as DaimlerChrysler's new head at the start of next year. A VW spokesman in Wolfsburg told German news agency dpa that VW, which is currently suffering problems in the US, was indeed interested in developing a minivan for the US -- its most important market but rejected a tie-up with Chrysler as pure speculation.