TOKYO, Japan: Foxconn has approached Honda Motor with a proposal to form a partnership, aiming to establish a broader collaboration framework that could also include Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors, Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported this week.

The move comes after merger talks between Honda and Nissan fell through. Earlier this month, Foxconn Chairman Young Liu expressed interest in working with Nissan, even suggesting the possibility of taking a stake in the Japanese automaker.

Taiwan-based Foxconn, best known as the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer and a key supplier to Apple, has been expanding aggressively into the electric vehicle industry.