FRANKFURT - Daimler is not interested in buying a stake in financially troubled automotive holding Porsche SE, Daimler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche told German weekly newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

If we wanted that, we would announce it, he said in an interview released ahead of publication on Sunday.

Porsche is obviously integrated very closely in the activities of the VW Group, according to Zetsche.

It does not appear to me to be sensible to think that this integration could be replaced with another, the Daimler CEO continued.

Daimler has been seeking to forge a closer alliance with luxury carmaker BMW, but has encountered resistance from its closest rival.

Zetsche said Daimler remained strong enough to survive the current crisis with its independence intact.

An increase in the sales of its Mercedes Benz and Smart cars to 1.5 million vehicles annually was realistic within five to ten years, he said.

(Reporting by Christiaan Hetzner)

Daimler AG