DaimlerChrysler AG is talking with Allianz AG and several other companies as the automaker seeks to expand its range of insurance, banking and other financial services, according to an April 11 report in the Detroit News.

The automaker said last year it would form DaimlerChrysler Bank to offer investment funds, savings accounts and more insurance. Allianz confirmed it is in talks with DaimlerChrysler, but declined to give details.

Automakers plan to boost earnings by expanding beyond core operations. General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company and others already offer credit cards, insurance and bank accounts. Volkswagen AG's bank said in February it has 388,000 customers and 7 billion deutsche marks, or $3.27 billion, in deposits.

DaimlerChrysler is talking to Allianz, Germany's largest insurer, as well as "two or three or four" other "big" financial services companies, according to Rainer Knubben, a DaimlerChrysler spokesman. He said the company hopes to complete an agreement in a few weeks.

The automaker already finances the sale and lease of Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler cars and trucks and "we want to offer more options to our customers," Knubben said.

"We are in talks," said Wolfgang Heilmann, an Allianz spokesman. "From our point of view, they are promising."