TOKYO (Nikkei)--Hitachi Ltd. has tied up with major U.S. autoparts maker TRW Inc. to develop and sell production management systems to the auto industry, company sources said Monday.

Under the alliance, TRW will sell Hitachi's NXAUTO production management system to General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and other automakers in the U.S. and Europe, and it will also be in charge of establishing and maintaining the system.

The NXAUTO covers all parts of the automaking process, including the management of production facilities, operational instructions and output levels.

Hitachi and TRW also plan to jointly develop an advanced auto manufacturing management system that will be available in Japanese, English, French and other languages.

Hitachi currently sells about 2 billion yen worth of the systems each year, and hopes to double that figure in two years. NXAUTO claims the biggest slice of the Japanese market for the systems.

(The Nihon Keizai Shimbun Tuesday morning edition)