Tokyo, Japan — Japanese auto giants Honda and Nissan are in preliminary merger talks, media reports said Wednesday.
A tie-up would help them better compete against Tesla and other electric vehicle makers, the Nikkei, the Financial Times and others said.
The two firms agreed in March to explore a strategic partnership on electric vehicles, a move analysts said was aimed at catching up with Chinese competitors.
A Honda spokesman said Wednesday that a potential merger was already among the possibilities being discussed.
“We are discussing possibilities for cooperation between Honda and Nissan in the future, in a wide range of fields and in various areas, and those possibilities include the latest reports, but there is nothing decided,” the spokesman told AFP.
Nissan said: “The content of the report is not something that has been announced by either companies. As announced in March of this year, Honda and Nissan are exploring various possibilities for future collaboration, leveraging each other’s strengths.
Nissan, in particular, has been struggling, announcing 9,000 job cuts last month and slashing its annual sales forecast.
