Technology of parts supplier Delphi attracts mainland firms Dongfeng Motors, which controls 12.6 per cent of the mainland car market, and car parts maker Minth Group are among a number of vehicle companies looking at acquiring assets from troubled United States vehicle suppliers Delphi Corp and Visteon Corp, market sources said. 'We do have a process that we are undergoing but we are not confirming specific companies we are in talks with,' a US-based spokesperson at Delphi said. Visteon, Dongfeng and Minth declined to comment. Delphi's US operations filed for bankruptcy last year and the company in March announced that it would sell or close its brakes, catalyst, instrument panel, door and steering units. These sales are expected to be completed by the end of next year, the company said. Mainland carmakers and parts suppliers are interested in buying overseas technology and forming alliances with global companies to upgrade domestic products and expand into foreign markets. Fuyao Group Glass Industries, the mainland's largest vehicle glass maker, is in talks with Ford about buying the company's glass-making facilities. Norstar Founders Group, a Hong Kong-based parts supplier with factories in Anhui province and Beijing, entered into a technology transfer agreement with Delphi earlier this year where the US vehicle parts supplier licensed equipment used in braking to Norstar. Dongfeng runs mainland joint ventures with Nissan Motors, Honda Motors and Peugeot Citroen. Ningbo-based Minth supplies products and services to such mainland joint ventures and domestic car firms including Dongfeng, First Automobile and Shanghai Automobile. US parts suppliers are suffering as vehicle makers cut back on production in North America as sales decline. Delphi is a primary parts supplier to General Motors, the world's largest carmaker. Japan's Toyota Motors is poised to take the world No1 spot as Japanese carmakers' sales continue to grow in the US, the largest car market in the world. Visteon is Ford Motors' primary supplier, accounting for almost 50 per cent of the parts supplier's sales. Visteon was rescued by Ford last year to keep parts flowing to the company, the second-largest vehicle maker in the US. The company has not made a profit in the six years since Ford spun the company off. Visteon in January said it intends to sell, close or revamp up to 23 factories by 2009. Interest from Asian carmakers was focused on cheaper assets that could be easily moved to the region. 'That limits what they can buy,' a source said. British car and aircraft parts maker GKN last week said it was in exclusive talks to buy a number of Visteon's operations in Europe and Brazil while US buyout fund Ripplewood is in talks to buy Delphi, according to people familiar with the situation. Such players are likely to win out over a company such as Minth, according to people familiar with the parts maker's acquisition strategy. 'Unless it's distressed they're going to get beaten to the punch because of their conservative approach and lack of experience,' a source said. Any potential acquisition was unlikely to be more than US$50 million, he added.