General Motors Corp has decided to end a joint venture with Toyota Motor Corp after negotiations failed on which type of vehicle to manufacture.

The world’s two largest automakers, GM and Toyota, have been jointly operating an auto assembly plant, the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc or Nummi since 1984. In April this year, GM CEO Fritz Henderson announced that the automaker would stop making the Pontiac Vibe, the only GM vehicle to be assembled at the Nummi plant. This was followed by yesterday’s announcement that GM will be shedding its stake in the assembly unit.

The decision by General Motors to pull out of the Nummi joint venture hardly comes as a surprise, considering the dire straits that the Detroit-based automaker finds itself in. last year’s market meltdown, hike in gas prices and the continuing recession have all led to severe decline in auto sales. This has compelled GM to shut many SUV and truck-making plants, besides laying off workers and seeking billions of dollars in federal aid.

Reacting to the news Toyota’s Tokyo-based spokesman Hideaki Homma said that Toyota had hoped to continue the joint venture and GM’s pull-out would create additional burden for Toyota at a time when auto makers across the globe are struggling with recession.