Honda Motor and Nissan Motor have essentially traded places since plans to combine the two companies collapsed dramatically last year.

Back then, Nissan¡¯s financial position was deteriorating rapidly and Honda was seen as a white knight. But a prospective tie-up fell apart over Nissan¡¯s resistance to demands from Honda, including that it become a wholly owned subsidiary.

A year later, Nissan managed to post an annual operating profit while Honda has slid into the red, setting the stage for what some see as a potential restart of talks on more even terms.