InsideJapan News Network

Daimler has expanded its stake in the Japanese-based Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp as it seeks to explore new markets.

The world's largest truck maker paid 30 billion yen to increase its holding from 85 per cent to 89.29 per cent. Daimler confirmed that the new deal will see the share held by the Mitsubishi Corp fall to 10.71 per cent.

"Fuso needed to reinforce its equity and Daimler provided it because it's convinced of the operation's profitability," Thierry Huon, an analyst at Exane BNP Paribas in Paris, told Bloomberg News.

Daimler, which was founded in 1886, has recently been targeting new emerging economies in order to boost its sales worldwide. In November, the company predicted that sales of its medium and heavy-duty models in China, India and Russia are set to increase by around ten per cent per year over the next decade.

Written by Susan Ballion.