Japan's Honda and Nissan said Monday they had embarked on formal merger talks that would create the third-largest car manufacturer globally with sales of as much as $191.4 billion and more than $19 billion profit.

Honda, Nissan, and Nissan's partner Mitsubishi are moving forward with a "business integration" to keep the Japanese automakers competitive

Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan will attempt to merge and create the world’s third-largest automaker by sales as the industry undergoes dramatic changes in its transition away from fossil fuels.