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The Nikkei newspaper reported that Nissan discontinued integration efforts with Honda which would have formed the world's third-largest automaker. Nissan faces greater uncertainty regarding its ability to tackle industry challenges because talks for a merger with Honda have ended.

Nissan shares plummeted by more than 4% after the news announcement which led to trading suspension on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Honda's stock prices rose above 8% after investors celebrated that the expected merger with rival companies had been terminated.

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Nissan publicly rejected the information published by Nikkei which claimed to have official confirmation regarding the merger. A spokesperson confirmed that their committee will determine the direction by mid-February before public announcement occurs. Honda confirmed it had not been informed officially by Nissan about ending their memorandum of understanding.

Japan's third and second-largest automakers Nissan and Honda started exploring merger possibilities due to electric vehicle competition from Chinese leader BYD and emerging manufacturers in the market during the previous year. Insiders disclosed that increasing variance between the two companies made their discussions evolve into a tougher challenge.

Honda proposed making Nissan their subsidiary instead of equal partnership which became an essential obstacle during merger discussions. The proposed arrangement generated tension between the companies because Nissan refused to relinquish executive authority. The market value of Honda exceeded Nissan by around five times leading to increased doubts regarding Nissan's ability to achieve its ongoing business transformation.

The major issue of control emerged from Nissan's unwillingness to become a Honda subsidiary according to Christopher Richter who serves as CLSA's senior Japan autos analyst. Honda seems set to end their business relationship with no possibility of controlling it.

Nissan has struggled with the transition to electric vehicles and has yet to fully recover from the turmoil caused by former Chairman Carlos Ghosn’s 2018 ouster. Compounding these challenges, the automaker faces potential new U.S. tariffs that could disproportionately impact its operations in Mexico.

Nissan’s alliance partner Renault had signaled openness to a Honda merger in principle, but the French company, which holds a 36% stake in Nissan, now faces further uncertainty over the automaker’s next steps.