Japanese automakers Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi said Thursday they are ending talks on business integration. Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida said the talks had changed focus from setting up a joint holding company to making Nissan into a subsidiary of Honda.

Top executives from Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi had been in talks to form a joint holding company to compete with Tesla and Chinese automakers on electric vehicles, but those talks have fallen through.

Nissan Motor Co. ( OTCPK:NSANY) and Honda Motor ( NYSE: HMC) have called off talks on a deal that would have created the world's third-largest carmaker. The development was widely anticipated after discussions had stalled in recent weeks to break off any merger momentum.