Chrysler hopes to restart merger talks with General Motors if the government comes up with a bailout package for automakers, the Financial Times reported Thursday.
Talks are ongoing at "a very low level" and will be restarted "immediately" once bailouts are approved, the FT said, quoting a person familiar with recent discussions.
"The talks were suspended while this process played out to see where everyone was," the person said.
GM's prospects for survival are bleak without government funds. And Chrysler is described by analysts as the one of the Big Three that can't continue on its own, the paper said.
Senate negotiators sought to craft a compromise plan to bail out distressed US auto makers, though prospects for a deal before Congress adjourns for the year remained remote.
With a Democratic proposal to use $25 billion from the Wall Street bailout fund stalled due to weak support, the emphasis shifted to a plan endorsed by Republicans and the White House.