UPDATE 1-GM seeks rival Toyota's help-Kyodo report

DETROIT, Oct 29 (Reuters) - U.S. automaker General Motors Corp has asked Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp for help in turning around its business, Kyodo News reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. GM has explored the possibility of its Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner meeting with Toyota's leadership in Japan soon, Kyodo said, citing sources. GM, which posted a $15.5 billion loss in the second quarter, has been struggling against declining market share, tight credit markets and cautious consumer spending, According to the report, there was resistance within Toyota, which turned down the overtures for a visit by Wagoner, Kyodo said. A Toyota spokesman declined to confirm or deny the report, and GM would only say that executives "routinely discuss issues of mutual interest" with other automakers. "As a policy, we do not confirm or comment publicly on those private discussions, which in many cases do not lead anywhere," GM said in a statement. According to the Kyodo report, Toyota was expected to consider quick fixes for cash-strapped GM, including buying its assets and helping it to secure funds. If they meet, the two automakers may also discuss an expanded business partnership, including Toyota making fuel-efficient compact cars for GM and providing hybrid-car technologies to the U.S. carmaker, according to the Kyodo report, which was sourced entirely to people who were not identified. GM has been in talks with Cerberus Capital Management since September about a possible merger with Chrysler LLC, the No. 3 U.S. automaker owned by Cerberus. Toyota is the world's largest automaker by sales this year, followed by GM. Sources familiar with the talks said on Wednesday that the two sides have resolved major issues in a proposed GM-Chrysler merger, but the final form of any deal would depend on financing and any government support available. GM and Toyota have a number of partnerships, including a joint venture, known as NUMMI, to build cars in Fremont, California, that was formed in 1981. (Reporting by Poornima Gupta, Editing by Maureen Bavdek, Toni Reinhold) Keywords: GM/TOYOTA Poornima Gupta vj COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

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