STOCKHOLM, July 30 (Reuters) - Japan's Hino Motors Ltd , which earlier this year signed a cooperation deal with Swedish truck maker Scania , will not buy a stake in Scania but it's owner Toyota might, a Swedish newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Hino's Deputy Chief Executive Kazuhiko Chiba told the business daily Dagens Industri that Hino was not in a financial position to buy the 45 percent stake Swedish heavy vehicles maker Volvo has in Scania .
"We in Hino will not buy Volvo's stake in Scania...All of that is a question for Hino's owner Toyota," Chiba was quoted as saying.
"If Toyota becomes interested, it is possible that they will buy Volvo's stake in Scania," Chiba said.
Toyota Motor Corp, which owns 50 percent of Hino, has so far not shown any interest in buying a stake in Scania despite Hino's cooperation deal entered in March.
The European Commission has ordered Volvo to sell its stake in Scania by January 2004 after the European Union's competition authorities blocked Volvo's planned takeover of Scania in 2000.
But Chiba said Hino's cooperation with Scania would continue regardless of what happened to Volvo's stake in the firm.
He said Scania would become as big in Japan as Volvo currently is in that market, and rapid expansion was possible because Scania's trucks could be sold at Hino's 40 retail outlets in Japan.
"We will sell 500 Scania trucks in five years' time," Chiba said.
Hino itself would also concentrate on the Asian markets, especially China and India, but did not expect major growth for its light trucks in Europe.
"In 10 years we will sell 10,000 small trucks annually. Europe is not a prioritised market for us," Chiba said.