TOKYO: Japan’s Suzuki Motor said on Sunday it plans to buy back its shares sold to Volkswagen after an international arbitration court settled a dispute between the two automakers.

The ruling came four years after the Japanese small car maker attempted to end an alliance with the German auto giant, which has refused Suzuki’s repeated demands to sell back the 112.21 million shares, or 19.9 per cent of Suzuki.

Arbitrators at the International Chamber of Commerce ruled the alliance has been terminated and ordered Volkswagen to dispose of Suzuki shares, the Japanese company said.

Suzuki planned to seek support from Volkswagen in hybrid technologies and other eco-friendly areas, while the German firm hoped to jointly develop small cars for emerging markets by taking advantage of Suzuki’s know how. But they made little progress and halted their joint projects.