Carseven Development Corp., a union of major used car dealers, announced Thursday that it will form strategic alliances with an affiliate of Tokyo Nissan Auto Sales Co. and a subsidiary of Stanley Electric Co. to reinforce its purchasing and sales network.

Carseven, established last year by six used car dealers in the Kanto region, will cooperate with Carnet Sharaku, a used car dealer wholly owned by Tokyo Nissan Auto Sales, and Trader Plaza Co., an online auto parts dealer established by Stanley Electric. The move is in response to increasing competition from car auction operators, who are taking the used car market by storm.

Carnet Sharaku will obtain a stake of between 5 percent and 10 percent in Carseven next month, and Trader Plaza will take charge of used car exports, officials of the three companies said.

Through the partnerships, Carseven expects to increase the number of its dealerships from the present 72 to 200 in 2002 and to increase its annual car sales from 50,000 to 75,000 units, company officials said.