Brussels, 24/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - Following an investigation, the European Commission has decided that a capital injection for the Spanish motor vehicle manufacturer Santana Motor in 1999 did not constitute state aid. Santana is a fully owned subsidiary of Instituto de Fomento de Andalucia, the regional development agency of the Andalucian government, which manufactures, assembles and sells small off-road vehicles under a licensing agreement with Suzuki. The Commission's investigation focussed on two aspects of the 1998-2006 strategic plan: a capital injection of EUR 23.4 million and regional investment aid of around EUR 10 million. Since the capital injection involved public funds, the Commission had to establish whether the company's profitability and growth prospects justified the capital injection. It decided that it was justified and the capital injection did not constitute aid. The Commission concluded that the regional development aid was compatible with the common market, but only EUR 8.68 million of the total EUR 10 million aid has been approved.