In an interview on CNBC television, US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Tuesday that the Treasury and the White House are reviewing financial data from the automakers in considering options for a bailout, which will enable automakers to receive a federal aid package once the government drafts a suitable plan to ensure the long-term survival of auto companies.

If a bailout for automakers comes through, Paulson's reach would expand into a new area of the economy - manufacturing. This year, he has already overseen government intervention into financial firms, as the Treasury led takeovers of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and American International Group Inc. and bought stakes in dozens of banks.

Saying that assembling the plan would take "a lot of work", Paulson did not clarify whether the auto rescue would use money from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), initially geared toward financial firms.

General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC have said they need immediate injections of cash to avoid near-term collapse. Ford Motor Co is seeking a government line of credit to be used if its financial conditions deteriorate any further.

Paulson indicated that the automakers will have to convince the government that they will use the money for returning to long-term health. He said: "Viability is challenging to achieve, it's necessary to achieve and it's going to have to be financial viability and the viability to build and sell the kind of products that the market wants. Competitiveness is something that government can't confer on anyone."