Photo/Illutration The logos of Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The high automobile tariffs imposed by the Trump administration have apparently brought two Japanese automakers back to the bargaining table.

Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. are considering a cooperative arrangement under which Nissan would produce pickup trucks for Honda at its underutilized U.S. plant, sources said.

The two companies announced plans to merge last December, but those discussions were abruptly called off two months later, in large part because of Honda’s proposal to make Nissan a subsidiary.

The latest cooperative proposal is designed to augment weak points in each company.

Honda does not have many pickup trucks in its U.S. sales lineup and Nissan’s U.S. plants are operating at less than full capacity because of sluggish sales in North America.

In May, Ivan Espinosa, Nissan’s new president, said his company was exploring the feasibility of cooperation with Honda and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. as well as how to better utilize its U.S. plants.

Nissan officials said on July 11 that they were still eyeing a cooperative relationship with Honda but refused to comment on speculation.

Both Honda and Nissan have sharply downgraded their estimates for operating profits in the fiscal year ending March 2026, with Honda projecting a decline of 650 billion yen ($4.4 billion) while Nissan is estimating up to a 450-billion-yen decline.

Increasing production in the United States would benefit both companies.

Discussions between executives of the two companies apparently resumed after Espinosa took over.

A source said both companies were facing difficulties not only due to the tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump but also a drop-off in sales of electric vehicles.

(This article was written by Kenta Nakamura and Akihiro Nishiyama.)

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