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Don't give up on the possibility of a Honda-Nissan linkup just yet.
Nissan’s incoming CEO, Ivan Espinosa, at an event Wednesday said the next big step in the Japanese automaker’s future could come with the help of a partner—which could mean Honda (HMC), according to a Bloomberg story.
A further move into autonomous mobility is "going to require a lot of work and a lot of investment that probably will need some partner,” said Espinosa, according to the report. "I’m open to Honda or other partners, as long as these partners are helping us drive the vision of the business.”
Espinosa, who will replace Makoto Uchida on April 1, is expected to take the role. The announcement was made after a plan for a merger with Honda failed. Nissan announced late last year that it would be letting thousands of employees go due to sagging sales on key markets.
Bloomberg says that the company could also explore other options.
“There’s another avenue, which is who should you partner with in order to develop this intelligent part of the future," Espinosa said, "There are some traits and some competencies that traditional [auto manufacturers] don’t have."
