Nissan Motor shares surged Wednesday following a media report that the Japanese automaker is looking to merge with Honda.

Nissan shares were last trading up 20%, while Honda shares slipped 2%.

Honda and Nissan are considering operating under a holding company, and soon will sign a memorandum of understanding, according to a report in the Nikkei newspaper. They also look to eventually bring Mitsubishi Motors, in which Nissan is the top shareholder with a 24% stake, under the holding company, according to the report.

The combined Nissan-Honda-Mitsubishi enterprise would equate to more than 8 million vehicle sales annually, according to Nikkei. That would place the company among the world's largest automakers, but still below fellow Japanese automaker Toyota Motor, at 11.2 million in 2023, as well as German automaker Volkswagen, which last year reported sales of 9.2 million vehicles.

The merger report follows the two Japanese automakers entering into a strategic partnership earlier this year on shared automotive components and software.

Such a tie-up would be the largest automotive industry merger since Fiat Chrysler joined with France-based PSA Groupe to form Stellantis in January 2021.