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

There's strife of the horizon as Nissan vehemently opposes Honda's suggestion of making the struggling carmaker its subsidiary.

Don’t underestimate the pride of an ailing company. After signing a memorandum of understanding in late December to “consider” a merger with Honda, a source told Reuters that Nissan is backing out of the discussion.