The head of Taiwan’s Foxconn said on Wednesday it was open to buying French auto giant Renault’s stake in Japan’s Nissan after reports last year said it had made an approach for the company.
The comments from Foxconn chairman Young Liu come after a source told AFP last week that the Japanese firm was in the process of abandoning merger discussions with Honda and could be open to other partners.
The Taiwanese tech giant reportedly asked Renault to sell its 35% stake in Nissan in December but was knocked back before the merger talks were announced.
But Liu confirmed on Wednesday that Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, had spoken to Renault about a co-operation.
Foxconn 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.
“We are… talking about cooperation with Renault. Our main purpose is to talk about cooperation. Renault happens to own some stake in Nissan, and (we) discussed the stake,” Liu said.
When asked if Foxconn would buy Renault’s stake in Nissan, he told reporters that if there was a need to take on Nissan’s stake in order to achieve the co-operation “we will consider it, but buying the stake is not our purpose”.
Liu also said Foxconn was looking into a co-operation with Nissan, not a merger.
“I think it is not a merger and acquisition case for Hon Hai, it is a co-operation case. How can we co-operate with this Japanese car manufacturer?,” he said at a company event in Taipei.
He added that Foxconn had been in contact with several car makers, including Nissan and Honda.
Foxconn is looking to expand into the Japanese EV market and Liu said at an earnings call in November that the company was in talks with “two Japanese carmakers”, hoping to sign contracts in the next few months.
He said on Wednesday that the company will announce “good news” in EV within one or two months but did not provide details.
Shares in Foxconn ended 1.6% lower in Taipei, while Tokyo-listed Nissan sank 5.9%.
