After merger talks

Tesla could join Nissan as an investor

Merger talks between Nissan and Honda recently broke down. Nissan's share price rose by a good ten percent on the Tokyo stock exchange. In the picture: Nissan showroom in Tokyo(Bild: AFP/AFP )

The US electric car company Tesla could soon join the struggling Japanese car manufacturer Nissan as a strategic investor. Merger talks between Nissan and Honda recently broke down. 

A high-ranking group of Japanese, including a former prime minister, has drawn up plans for the US company led by Elon Musk to acquire a stake in Nissan, wrote the Financial Times (FT) on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The group hopes that Tesla will become a strategic investor and also assumes that the US group is interested in Nissan's factories in the USA. This is because these factories would help Tesla to strengthen domestic production in response to the tariff threats of the new US President Donald Trump.

The new considerations for the future of Nissan follow shortly after the breakdown of merger talks with Honda. The Japanese carmakers had actually hoped that together they would be better able to defend themselves against the weakening business in China and the growing competition in the growing electric car market