Carmakers looking towards the European Union's lending arm for support won't receive as much as they thought.

Manufacturers were seeking about 40 billion Euros from the European Investment Bank, reports The Financial Times.

However president of the EIB Philippe Maystadt said it would probably lend the industry about seven billion Euros, saying it would be a mistake to concentrate a big part of their lending on one sector.

He said further help for carmakers, who received about two billion Euros in EIB loans annually before the crisis, would reduce the bank's ability to support other industries.

The Financial Times says Maystadt's decision is likley to inflame automobile executives, who have criticised the EIB for acting too slowly and being stingy at a time when the industry's survival is at stake.