Auto Plant Deal Said to Be Near

Japanese auto maker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is close to a deal that would give it control of a car assembly plant that it built jointly with Chrysler Corp., the Detroit News reported Sunday.

Chrysler, in need of cash, has been rumored for months to be seeking a deal in which it would receive $200 million to $300 million in return for the large part of its ownership in the high-technology factory known as Diamond-Star Motors.

Chrysler, seeking to downplay reports that it is having financial troubles, has made no comment about trade press reports of the deal.

But a Mitsubishi spokesman told the Detroit News that the deal was going forward. The spokesman, Kim Custer of the subsidiary Mitsubishi Motor Sales Corp. of America, was quoted as saying that the deal was likely to be concluded by July 31.

Karen Stewart, a spokeswoman for Chrysler, would neither confirm nor deny the report Sunday, saying that it was not Chrysler’s policy to “comment on speculative reports and rumors.”