Taiwans Foxconn in talks with Renault over Nissan stake: report [Video]

Taiwan’s Foxconn is in talks with French auto giant Renault to buy its major stake in Japanese carmaker Nissan, a report said Thursday, after the Japanese firm rebuffed its inquiries about an investment.

The development comes after reports on Wednesday that Nissan and local rival Honda were in talks about a merger to help them compete against Tesla and Chinese electric vehicle makers.

Foxconn, also known by its official name Hon Hai Precision Industry, is the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer and builds devices for major tech companies, including Apple’s iPhones.

But it has been moving to diversify beyond electronics assembly, pushing into areas ranging from electric vehicles to semiconductors and servers.

Taiwan’s Central News Agency cited unnamed industry sources as saying Jun Seki, Foxconn’s chief strategy officer for EV, had gone to France to negotiate with Renault, which owns a significant stake in Nissan.

The report said Foxconn “had …