Yokohama, Japan - February 13, 2025 Japan's leading automakers Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. announced on Thursday the termination of discussions on a potential merger, bringing an end to the restructuring attempt that could have created one of the world's largest automotive groups. At a press conference held at the Nissan Motor headquarters in Yokohama on Thursday, Nissan's CEO Makoto Uchida said that the company had reached an agreement with Honda to terminate merger and other related negotiations which had lasted less than two months. Honda's CEO Toshihiro Mibe expressed deep regret that both companies could not reach a consensus and take a step toward the merger. However, through these discussions, Honda and Nissan recognized the potential synergy effects of collaboration, he noted. On Dec. 23 last year, Nissan and Honda announced the launch of negotiations on the establishment of a joint holding company which would have been the world's third largest automobile group. The two companies initially focused on forming a holding company that would oversee both brands, but negotiations stalled over the shareholding structure and tensions escalated when Honda proposed making Nissan its subsidiary, an idea Nissan strongly opposed, saying the proposal ignored its independence and brand value. According to local media, Honda had been pushing Nissan to accelerate its restructuring efforts. In November 2024, Nissan announced plans to cut 9,000 jobs worldwide and reduce its global production capacity by 20 percent after reporting a more than 90 percent drop in net profit for the April-September period. Shotlist: Yokohama, Japan - Feb 13, 2025: FILE: Tokyo, Japan - April 23, 2019 1. Various of Nissan Motor dealership, Nissan logo; 2. Staff member in Nissan dealership; FILE: Tokyo, Japan - June 10, 2024 3. Various of Honda Motor dealership, sign of Honda, pedestrians; 4. People talking in dealership; Yokohama, Japan - Feb 13, 2025 5. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Makoto Uchida, Nissan's CEO: "Honda has proposed to modify the form of the merger, hoping to make Nissan a wholly owned subsidiary through an equity swap, which is different from the framework previously reached in the basic agreement."; FILE: Shanghai, China - April 19-20, 2021 6. Nissan showroom; FILE: Tokyo, Japan - Nov 2017 7. Honda exhibition area; 8. Honda electric vehicles on display; FILE: Japan - Aug 12, 2020 9. Various of vehicles being manufactured in factory; FILE: Tokyo, Japan - Aug 24, 2021 10. Various of traffic. [Restriction - No access Chinese mainland]