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Porsche's supervisory board today gave the company the go-ahead to bid for a majority stake in Volkswagen. The go-ahead came on the day that VW acquired a majority stake in Swedish truck company Scania.

Any deal is subject to review by regulatory authorities and Porsche indicated that this was likely to take several months.

Wendelin Wiedeking, CEO of Porsche SE, said: "Our aim is to create one of the strongest and most innovative automobile alliances in the world." He said there was no intention to merge the two companies, and that the carmaking activities of Porsche would be a subsidiary of the holding company alongside those of VW.

Wiedeking said: "Our aspiration to become the majority shareholder of Volkswagen is good news for the employees of the Volkswagen Group and of Porsche. The decision of the supervisory board secures the long-term future of both companies."

At the current stock exchange prices, the acquisition of a further 20 per cent shareholding to take Porsche's stake in VW over 50 per cent would cost the group in the region of €10 billion.

* VW takes control of Scania