Chrysler has been given approval from the US bankruptcy court to access a $4.5 billion (£3bn) state loan as it secures its planned alliance with Fiat.

However a group of investment funds yesterday attempted to block its plans with Fiat. The dissenting lenders, led by Oppenheimer Funds and Stairway Capital, argued in a New York bankruptcy court that the sale proposal was "orchestrated entirely by the U.S. Treasury and foisted upon the debtors."

Chrysler asked the court to schedule a hearing as soon as May 21 to allow it to sell its best assets into a new company owned by its unions, Fiat and the US Government.