Nissan And Honda To Hold Merger Talks: Here's What We Know So Far

Japanese auto giant Honda and its struggling rival Nissan agreed on Monday to launch talks on a merger seen as a bid to catch up with Chinese rivals and Tesla on electric vehicles.

Their collaboration would create the world's third largest automaker, expanding development of EVs and self-driving tech.

But Honda's CEO insisted that it was not a bailout for Nissan, who last month announced thousands of job cuts and reported a 93 percent plunge in first-half net profit.

'This is not a rescue,' Toshihiro Mibe told reporters, stressing that one condition for the merger would be for Nissan to complete its so-called 'turnaround' plan.

Lacklustre consumer spending and stiff competition in several markets is making life hard for many automakers.