A tiff that started over Volkswagen AG's description of Suzuki Motor Corp. in its annual report has escalated into a spat threatening to unravel the two automakers' planned alliance before the partnership ever gets going.
"Volkswagen is not talking to us," Osamu Suzuki, the company's chairman, said in an interview. "We have no plans to talk to them."
The downward spiral began in March when VW said in the report that it could "significantly influence financial and operating policy decisions" at Suzuki, describing the company as an "associate." That did not sit well with Suzuki, based in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture.