Renault SA (RNO.FR) confirmed Thursday it and its Japanese alliance partner Nissan Motor Co (7201.FR) are discussing a commercial deal to sell cars to Saturn, the former General Motors Co. (GM) unit that was taken over by Penske Automotive Group (PAG) last month.

Renault's chief operating officer Patrick Pelata told an an analysts' meeting that PAG Chief Executive Roger Penske is looking to forge commercial alliances with other car manufacturers.

"He is looking for cars to sell. He has looked at all car makers, and he has seen that Renault has a nice line-up, sharing power trains with Nissan that are obviously adapted to the U.S. market."

"He's asking us: "Do you want to sell us cars?" and we are discussing about how to sell him cars," Pelata said.

He said there's been no conclusion so far. "It's an ongoing discussion," Pelata said, and declined to elaborate.

Penske agreed in June to take over GM's Saturn subsidiary and its dealership network.

Unlike Nissan, Renault has no presence in the U.S. market.

-By David Pearson, Dow Jones Newswires; +331 4017 1740, david.pearson@dowjones.com