Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida will step down from his position on April 1, with current Chief Planning Officer Ivan Espinosa set to take up the role. Espinosa will be Nissan's fourth CEO in eight years. The leadership shakeup comes less than a month after Nissan and Honda terminated merger talks.

The change in the top management team was deemed necessary due to the "industry-wide challenges and Nissan's performance"

Espinosa's appointment has reportedly elicited speculation that a resumption in talks with Honda about the called-on merger could happen.