Nissan's future reportedly became the sticking point in negotiations, with Honda pushing to make its smaller competitor a direct subsidiary.

Even if the merger is off, Nissan remains keen on working with Honda in areas such as electric vehicles and software defined vehicles.

Nissan and Honda, both major automakers based in Japan, responded Wednesday to reports that a potential merger of the two companies could beat risk of being abandoned.

Two of Japan’s largest automakers have been in talks to combine their operations to form one of the world’s biggest car groups.

TOKYO — Nissan is set to call off merger talks with rival Honda, a source said Wednesday, abandoning a $60 billion-plus tie-up that would have created the world's No. 3 automaker and raising questions about how it will drive a turnaround by itself.

The Nissan CEO has reportedly notified the Honda CEO about his decision to end merger talks. The $60 billion Honda and Nissan merger would create the world’s third-biggest automaker. Nissan is now looking for new partners,