According to the interview done in Dearborn, Michigan, Devine flatly denied media reports in the United States and Europe that the US automaker is thinking about a buyout of or capital participation in the Japanese car maker, as well as in Volvo AB and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG.

The Ford CFO said that his company would not compete with DaimlerChrysler AG or Renault Sa, both of which have reportedly pitched tie-ups to Nissan, the report said.

While Devine admitted that the US firm had attempted to deepen its relationship with Nissan in the past, it is not currently negotiating any capital tie-up, the report said.

Ford and Nissan Motor jointly develop and manufacture mini-vans in the United States, it said. Earlier on Friday,DaimlerChrysler and Nissan Motor said that the chief executives of the two firms met in Tokyo on Thursday but had made no decisions yet about cooperation between the two auto makers.

DaimlerChrysler and one of its predecessors, Daimler-Benz AG, have been in talks for more than a year with Nissan Motor about the sale of a controlling stake in Nissan truck making affiliate Nissan Diesel Motor Co.