(December 9, 2009) Volkswagen will buy a one-fifth stake in Suzuki for $2.5 billion, tapping the Japanese firm's expertise in small cars and dominance in India as VW seeks to become the No.1 automaker, Reuters reported.

The move is the second coup this week for ambitious VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech, coming on the heels of the German carmaker's 3.9 billion euro ($5.8 billion) purchase of a 49.9 percent stake in sports car maker Porsche AG.

Piech's top lieutenant, VW CEO Martin Winterkorn, was hopeful the Suzuki alliance would help catapult the Wolfsburg-based carmaker past industry leader Toyota  ahead of plan.

"If that succeeds faster (than 2018), we're happy," a grinning Winterkorn told reporters as he sat next to Suzuki's nearly 80-year-old CEO Osamu Suzuki at a Tokyo press conference.