Suzuki Motor's chief executive indicated Thursday that he would oppose any move by Germany's Volkswagen to lift its stake in the Japanese group above 20 percent. As Suzuki becomes more successful, "it is only natural perhaps that Volkswagen will say, 'We think you are a great company. We want more of your shares'," Osamu Suzuki told a news conference in response to a question.

"When that day comes, probably Suzuki will respond by saying, 'Look, we have been able to succeed so well until now because of this current relationship we have with you ... Let's not to do anything to change it," he added. Volkswagen announced in December that it would buy 19.9 percent of Suzuki for moore than 2.5 billion dollars. Suzuki said at the time that it would invest up to half the money in Volkswagen shares.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2010