The Japanese companies are considering joining forces to survive in a rapidly changing auto industry, but auto history is filled with troubled and failed marriages.
Japan’s second- and third-largest automakers hope the deal can help them catch up with Tesla and China’s BYD in electric vehicles and advanced software.
The automakers, Japan’s second and third largest, are said to be discussing a tie-up that could reshape the country’s industry.
The Japanese automaker is carving deep cuts in its global operations as it struggles with a steep drop in sales.
After dominating sales in Thailand for decades, Mazda, Nissan and other Japanese companies are losing their grip on a market long viewed as a regional hub.
Akio Toyoda ran Toyota for 14 years before handing the reins to a new C.E.O. last year, but some have grown concerned about the control he still wields.
The Japanese automaker, which has been slow to sell electric vehicles, said it would invest $11 billion to make batteries and cars in Ontario.
Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, has been criticized for selling few electric vehicles, but its decision to focus on hybrids is paying off financially.
The world’s largest carmaker dominates the sales of hybrid cars but has been slow to sell all-electric vehicles, alienating some customers and hurting sales.
A medida que el mundo cambia a fuentes de energía más limpias, el control sobre los materiales necesarios para impulsar esa transición sigue en disputa.