CEO Makoto Uchida could very well fall on his sword—whether or not Nissan’s board is still interested in a tie-up with its larger domestic rival. Japanese carmaker Honda Motor is reportedly demanding Nissan jettison CEO Makoto Uchida as a condition for reopening acquisition talks that could create the world’s third-largest carmaker by vehicle sales.

Honda Motor will resume talks with Nissan Motor to form the world's fourth-biggest automaker provided Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida steps down, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday citing a person familiar with discussions.

Nissan began merger discussions with Honda in December 2024 after the Yokohama-based automaker's bleak financial situation became apparent at the release of its year-end reports. Since then, it's been openly looking to break ties with its nearly two-plus-decade alliance with France's Renault.

In a statement on Thursday, boards of both Nissan and Honda decided to mutually terminate their memorandum of understanding signed last August for a proposed tripartite deal that would have included Mitsubishi as well.

Honda may be willing to restart negotiations that fell apart earlier this month, on the condition that Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida leaves the automaker, according to a Monday report from the Financial Times.

The Honda-Nissan merger, which had been under discussion since last year, has now collapsed due to disagreements over control and strategy. However, there

Less than two months after a potential merger was floated, Honda and Nissan have called the potential partnership off, forcing Nissan, which has been experiencing difficulties, to explore alternate collaborations.

In a startling vote of no confidence, Honda is open to restarting merger talks with Nissan, but only if the latter’s CEO Makoto Uchida resigns from the company. That’s according to at least one insider,

Japan's second- and third-largest automakers by sales after Toyota Motor had been in talks to create a $60 billion firm after a lack of hybrid models in the U.S. and competition from local rivals in China had sent Nissan's earnings diving.

In a joint statement released the same day, Honda acknowledged that it proposed to divert from its original intention of forming a joint holding company to one where "Honda would