Honda Motor will resume talks with Nissan Motor to form the world's fourth-biggest automaker provided Nissan chief executive Makoto Uchida steps down, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday citing a person familiar with discussions.

Japan's second- and third-largest automakers by sales after Toyota Motor had been in talks to create a US$60 billion (HK$468 billion) firm after a lack of hybrid models in the US and competition from local rivals in China had sent Nissan's earnings diving.

Those talks collapsed last week, plunging Nissan into further uncertainty and highlighting the pressure on legacy automakers, particularly from emerging Chinese giants disrupting the industry.

Nissan declined to comment to Reuters on the FT report. Honda said the report was not something it had announced.