Honda and Nissan’s Shifting Fortunes May Bolster Case for Tie-Up

Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. 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 re-start of talks on more even terms.

“They’ll have to ...