Total sales of Nissan and Honda are more than $191 billion (£152 billion), Nissan chief executive Makoto Uchida said.

In March, the two Japanese automakers agreed to explore a strategic partnership for electric vehicles (EVs).

“Negotiations started because we believe we need to build capacity to fight them, including against current emerging forces, by 2030. Otherwise, we will be defeated,” Mibe said.

He added that the deal was not a bailout for Nissan, which is facing declining sales.

In November, Nissan announced it would cut about 9,000 jobs as part of a global production cut to cope with falling sales in China and the United States. These cuts mean its global production will be reduced by a fifth.

Nissan, once a symbol of the Japanese automaker’s strength, has spent recent years trying to regain its footing following the arrest of its longtime CEO, Carlos Ghosn. Mr. Ghosn was accused of financial misconduct when he fled Japan in 2019 and is currently the subject of an Interpol Red Notice, which calls on law enforcement agencies around the world to track down and arrest him. arrest a person. Mr. Ghosn, currently in Lebanon, told reporters in December that Nissan’s merger plans were an act of panic and desperation.

Mr Mibe said any merger would depend on Nissan’s turnaround.

The merger, which would include Mitsubishi – of which Nissan is the largest shareholder – would allow the three companies to share resources against other electric vehicle competitors such as Tesla. Honda and Nissan agreed in March to cooperate in their electric vehicle businesses and deepened their ties in August by agreeing to work together on batteries and other technologies.

However, any deal is likely to face intense political scrutiny in Japan as it could lead to job cuts, while Nissan is expected to end its alliance with French carmaker Renault.