Mitsubishi said on Tuesday it would stand by Sweden's AB Volvo, but analysts said DaimlerChrysler's move underlined the Japanese carmaker's awkward position of being linked to two rival automakers - Volvo for trucks and DaimlerChrysler for cars.

The three-way relationship possesses inherent conflicts of interest, with Mitsubishi's truck unit regarded as the best part of its operations and DaimlerChrysler, also a truckmaker with ambitions in Asia, by far the bigger partner.

DaimlerChrysler agreed to buy 34 per cent of Mitsubishi in March, giving it veto power in board decisions. Volvo, which tied with Mitsubishi in October, will only have 20 per cent of the truck subsidiary when it is spun off next year.

And although DaimlerChrysler has said it will honour Mitsubishi's earlier pact with Volvo, most analysts do not credit the German-US automaker with such altruistic motives, saying it is waiting for the right opportunity to drive Volvo away.

Thus DaimlerChrysler's announcement on Monday that it was teaming up with South Korea's Hyundai Motor, not only in cars but also in trucks, forming a 50:50 joint venture from Hyundai's existing truck division - does not bode well for Volvo.

Hyundai, which will join DaimlerChrysler and Mitsubishi in building a compact car for global markets, also has close truck ties with Mitsubishi, increasing potential conflict of interest.

"DaimlerChrysler is putting the pressure on Mitsubishi. It makes less and less sense for Mitsubishi to stick with Volvo when it could be snug with DaimlerChrysler and Hyundai," said Tadayuki Nakamura, auto analyst at Sakura Securities.

Mitsubishi has supplied truck transmission technology in the past to Hyundai, and Hyundai also makes a vehicle based on Mitsubishi's Canter truck - a model that now belongs to the truck operations to be shared with Volvo.Mitsubishi Motors president Katsuhiko Kawasoe said DaimlerChrysler did not consult it about the Hyundai truck tie-up before the announcement and that it would stand by Volvo.

"We were not informed ahead of time about the truck deal," he said. "But it does not change anything. DaimlerChrysler will be our competitor in trucks," he told reporters after the company's annual shareholder's meeting.