Japanese auto giants Honda and Nissan confirmed they've scrapped merger talks announced in December​, ending a potential combination that would have created the world's third-largest automaker.

The chief executives of the two automakers, at separate news conferences, traded jabs about Honda’s bid to change the terms of the deal.

Nissan and Honda ended merger talks to forge a $60 billion car company on Thursday, pitching Nissan deeper into uncertainty and highlighting the pressure on legacy automakers from Chinese rivals upending the industry.