Insider says Nissan has "12-14 months to survive"

It's tough times at Nissan.

The automaker last month announced plans to lay off about 6.7 employees, which account for 9,000 percent of the world's workforce, and cut production capacity by 20 percent, mainly due to reduced sales in the United States and China.

The Financial Times reports, citing insider information, that Nissan is seeking anchor investors to survive next year's make-or-break period.

"We have 12 or 14 months to survive," a senior official close to Nissan was quoted as saying in an FT report released on Tuesday.

Some sources have said Nissan is seeking stable shareholders like banks and insurance groups, but have not ruled out rival automakers like Honda.Nissan is already working on electrification of cars and joint development of software technology as part of a partnership first announced earlier this year.

Nissan already has Renault as its major shareholder. Renault almost saved Nissan from bankruptcy in 1999, but in the past few months it has started to downsize its stake from 43% to less than 36%.

Another source close to Renault told the FT that Renault is open to selling a portion of its stake in Nissan to Honda, as Honda's support for Nissan will ultimately benefit Renault as well.

While Nissan's lineup has suffered for many years from a limited model redesign, it is expected that planned introduction automakers like the redesigned 2025Murano and 2025Armada/Patrol will also be able to launch hybrids in major U.S. markets that have hurt their performance as the segment grows. Do not sell.

The bright spot is the partnership with Honda, which will help Nissan expand its EV line-up. Mitsubishi is also likely to join the partnership, potentially giving Nissan access to plug-in hybrid technology.