Nissan, Honda scrap $60bn merger talks

Nissan and Honda ended merger talks to forge a $60 billion car company on Thursday, pitching Nissan deeper into uncertainty and highlighting the pressure on legacy automakers from Chinese rivals upending the industry. The talks between Honda, Jap­an’s second-largest automa­ker, and Nissan, its third, were anno­unced in December but were soon strained by disagreements, inclu­ding over the balance of power. The deal was ultimately sunk by Honda’s proposal to make Nissan a subsidiary, sources have said. The car companies said they would continue with an earlier agreement, which also includes Mitsubishi Motors, to cooperate on technology and other areas. Analysts said such collaboration is crucial for established carmakers as BYD and other Chinese EV makers gobble up market share with sleeker, more software-rich cars.