Mitsubishi and Volvo are jointly developing midsized trucks to be sold in Japan and Europe.

The announcement could help dampen speculation that the two truck makers would end their cooperative relationship after DaimlerChrysler agreed to acquire a controlling minority stake in the Japanese automaker.
Both Volvo and Mitsubishi have repeatedly insisted that the DaimlerChrysler stake will not affect their relationship, which is exclusive to the truck portion of the business.
According to Reuters, Mitsubishi will sell the new trucks mainly in the domestic market, while Volvo will sell them in Europe under its own badge. The trucks are scheduled to be available starting in 2004.
The truck makers had hoped the engine developed by the joint project could be used in other new mid-sized truck models to be launched by the two companies. However, because Volvo offers larger trucks than Mitsubishi, its potential use will be limited.