Nissan is still holding “various discussions” with Honda, the carmaker said Wednesday in response to media reports that it is set to scrap merger talks with its larger rival. The two Japanese companies announced in December that they would conduct negotiations over the following six months on a possible merger,

Japan's Nissan will call off merger talks with rival Honda, the Nikkei newspaper said, abandoning a tie-up that would have created the world's No.3 automaker and raising questions about how it will drive a turnaround by itself.