Speculation about a potential Honda and Nissan merger began earlier this month, and the two companies confirmed the official start of talks Monday.

The Detroit Three are facing an auto industry increasingly affected by the rise of China as demonstrated by the planned merger of Honda and Nissan.

SIGN UP for TheStreet’s FREE Daily newsletter 💰💸 While his tenure also brought about landmark products like the all-electric Nissan Leaf and the Nissan GT-R supercar; his tenure with the automaker,