Carmakers Nissan and Honda call off merger talks

Japan’s Nissan and Honda have ended discussions on a deal that would have created the world’s third-largest carmaker.

Japan’s Nissan and Honda have ended discussions on a deal that would have created the world’s third-largest carmaker. The two companies, along with their junior partner Mitsubishi Motors, agreed to “terminate” a memorandum of understanding to join forces, Nissan said in a statement on Thursday. “Going forward, Nissan and Honda will collaborate within the framework of a strategic partnership aimed at the era of intelligence and electrified vehicles, striving to create new value and maximize the corporate value of both companies,” it said. Nissan and Honda had announced in December that they would begin talks over the following six months on a possible merger, in a deal that would have given them more firepower to compete with growing competition from Chinese carmakers like BYD. The deal was motivated by the need to combine their resources to remain competitive as the industry transitions to electric vehicles. However, after just a few weeks of talks, negotiations appeared to stall. During the discussions, various options were considered regarding the structure of the business integration, according to the statement.