Tata Motors, one of India's leading automobile companies, said Thursday it has entered into a pact with Italy's Fiat to analyse the feasibility of jointly manufacturing passenger cars.

Under the agreement, both the automobile companies will also explore the possibility of jointly sourcing and distributing products across markets, said a statement issued here.

A joint team would be set up by Fiat and Tata Motors to determine the "feasibility and specificity" of the nature of cooperation, both in the short and long term, added the statement.

"The possible strategic cooperative agreement with Tata Group represents another step in our clearly defined strategy that calls for targeted alliances across the automobile value chain," said Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat S.p.A.

Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Motors, said: "Both companies will benefit from this alliance in terms of possible joint product development, shared platforms and aggregates."

Tata Motors' vehicles are marketed in several countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia, South Asia and Australia.