Nissan to reconsider Chrysler deal depending on Chapter 11 process+

TOKYO, May 12 Kyodo -
Nissan Motor Co. may reconsider its business alliance with troubled U.S.
automaker Chrysler LLC if the U.S. company becomes a ''different entity''
following the filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, its president Carlos
Ghosn said on Tuesday.

''If the company becomes a subsidiary or a completely different entity, we will
reconsider the contract,'' Ghosn said at a press conference in Tokyo following
its earnings announcement for fiscal 2008.
Last January, Japan's third-largest automaker said it has agreed to supply the
U.S. automaker with the Versa compact sedan for sale under the Chrysler brand
in the South American market from 2009. The two companies later agreed to
supply each other with cars for sale in the North American and European
markets.
But the third-largest U.S. automaker filed for bankruptcy protection on April
30 and inked a capital tie-up agreement with Italy's Fiat SpA as part of its
reconstruction efforts, throwing the contract with Nissan into question.
Ghosn also denied reports that Nissan is interested in buying a part of brands
owned by General Motors Corp., another ailing U.S. auto giant facing the
prospect of bankruptcy, and emphasized the company will not take part in any
global realignment moves concerning the Big Three.
''On the short term, we won't (participate in the realignment),'' Ghosn said at
a separate interview with Kyodo News and other Japanese media.
''Our priority today is to bring Nissan back to profit and no attention should
be diverted to other objectives,'' he said.
On Tuesday, Nissan incurred a group net loss of 233.71 billion yen in fiscal
2008 and promised cost-cutting measures to reduce the red ink to 170 billion
yen in the current business year.
In the interview, Ghosn said he has no immediate plans of resigning even as
other top Japanese automakers like Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. plan
a management overhaul in June amid the severe global auto slump.
''Particularly in the middle of a storm, if you don't stay, it's desertion,''
he said, adding that any departure at the current time is ''not feasible.''
Ghosn added he anticipates recovery in the global auto market to be driven by
robust demand in emerging markets while acknowledging that a turnaround in
developed markets in Japan and the United States will take around two to three
years.
''I have absolutely no doubt...that the global market will resume growth at the
end of this crisis, particularly led by emerging markets'' in Brazil, China,
India, Russia and the Middle East, he said.
==Kyodo