Honda and Nissan are reportedly looking possibility of joiningsparking speculation about what the potential move could mean - but experts say the rumored partnership isn't surprising.

News of the merger talks, first reported by the Nikkei newspaper on Tuesday, comes as the two Japanese auto giants struggle to compete with the biggest global electric vehicle (EV) maker, including Tesla and Chinese automaker BYD.

Nissan and Honda are reportedly in talks for a potential merger. (Getty Images/Getty Images)

Although neither Honda nor Nissan have confirmed the merger talks, Brian Moody, executive editor at Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book, predicted about a year ago that there would be more of these types of partnerships, as the companies could pool resources and offset costs.

Moody told FOX Business in an interview that if a small brand says it will use all the electricity it is one thing, but for a large company to do so is a huge undertaking that requires a lot of research and development.

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Honda and Nissan are the second and third largest car manufacturers in Japan, respectively, with Toyota leading both.

Rumors of a possible merger between Honda and Nissan are not surprising (YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The respective market capitalizations of Honda and Nissan are approximately 5.95 trillion yen ($38.8 billion) and 1.17 trillion yen ($7.6 billion).

"A company like Honda may not be able to do it alone, but at the same time, Honda has some pretty interesting products, so I think they both bring something important to the table,” said Moody.

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"But the big thing is pooling the resources so that (they) don't make bad business decisions for the technology, the electric car, which is growing - but not growing as fast as people might think or expect," he added.

One possible outcome of a potential Honda-Nissan merger could be a less expensive EV option, according to Brian Moody (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

So what could the merger mean for consumers? Moody said he could see value in smaller, cheaper electric cars coming from such a deal.

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"I can even see a merger or partnership like this producing a low-cost sub-brand," he said. "Because that's what we're hearing, is a lot of people, a lot of consumers, are saying, 'You know, new cars are too expensive. I can't afford a new car.'"

FOX Business's Andrea Margolis and Reuters contributed to this report.