Aug. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Suzuki Motor Corp., Japan’s second-largest minicar maker, may introduce gasoline-electric hybrid cars in North America in 2011 to meet growing demand for fuel-efficient vehicles.

The carmaker will add a hybrid system to the Kizashi sedan, the Nikkei newspaper reported yesterday. Spokesman Hideki Taguchi declined to deny the report.

Suzuki plans to use a hybrid system it developed with General Motors Co., according to Nikkei. Suzuki aims to compete with top-selling hybrid makers Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. as the smaller carmaker’s U.S. sales have plunged 60 percent this year through July as it struggles to survive the worst auto market in three decades.

GM and Suzuki are also cooperating on development of fuel-cell vehicles. GM, which first invested in Suzuki in 1981, sold its remaining 3 percent equity stake in November to raise funds. The U.S. carmaker had held as much as 20 percent of Suzuki’s shares.

To contact the reporter on this story: Yuki Hagiwara in Tokyo at yhagiwara1@bloomberg.net; Makiko Kitamura in Tokyo at mkitamura1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 16, 2009 21:30 EDT