By Wen-Yee Lee
NEW TAIPEI, Taiwan (Reuters) -The chairman of Taiwan’s Foxconn said on Wednesday that the company’s aim is cooperation with Nissan, not acquisition, as the Japanese automaker’s future hangs in the balance after stepping back from merger talks with Honda.
Struggling Nissan is again at a crossroads after sources said last week that negotiations with bigger rival Honda to create the world’s No. 4 automaker had been complicated by growing differences.
The deal would have been the latest change in a car industry facing a huge threat from China’s BYD and other electric vehicle entrants.
Nissan is open to working with new partners such as Taiwan’s Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker and Apple’s main iPhone maker, sources said last week.
Speaking to reporters at Foxconn’s corporate headquarters in New Taipei, outside the capital Taipei, its Chairman Young Liu said his company was not looking to acquire Nissan, but it would consider taking a stake if that was needed for cooperation.
“Purchasing its shares is not our aim; our aim is cooperation,” he added, in Foxconn’s first public comments about its talks with Nissan.
Foxconn is also talking about cooperation with France’s Renault given that company’s stake in Nissan, Liu said. Renault owns 36% of Nissan, including 18.7% in a French trust.
Nissan and Renault declined to comment on Liu’s remarks.
Nissan shares ended down around 6%, while Foxconn shares closed 1.1% lower. Nissan and Honda are both due to release their quarterly financial results on Thursday.
While Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, is best known for its role as an Apple supplier, it also has ambitions in the electric vehicle sector as it seeks to diversify its business.
Liu said Foxconn would not get into being an auto “brand” and would only provide commissioned design and manufacturing services.
(Reporting by Wen-Yee Lee in New Taipei; Additional reporting by Daniel Leussink in Tokyo; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Jamie Freed)
