Honda, Nissan end merger talks, scuttling $60bn deal

Nissan reportedly backed out of the talks with larger rival Honda after negotiations were complicated by growing differences, including Honda's proposal that Nissan become a subsidiary [File: Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP]

Japan’s second and third-largest automakers, Honda and Nissan, have announced that their boards had voted to end talks to merge, even as they pledged to continue their cooperation on electric vehicles amid intensifying global competition.

Thursday’s announcement brings to an end a potential tie-up that would have created the world’s third-largest automaker, worth some $60bn.