Japan’s second- and third-biggest carmakers are holding talks that could seem them come together under a new holding company.
Both Honda and Nissan are facing huge challenges, losing market share in EV-dominant China, facing falling sales and EV mandates in Europe, and potentially increased tariffs in the USA.
The two manufacturers have already announced they would work together on future EVs, with a focus on collaboration on batteries and e-axles, but according to reports things have moved on and a merger is now under discussion.
Nikkei Asia says talks have been accelerated after Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry (aka Foxconn) has been trying to acquire a stake in Nissan from France’s Renault. A merger with Honda – which would likely also involve Mitsubishi, as Nissan owns a 24 per cent stake – would maintain Japanese ownership. It’s unclear how any deal would impact Renault, which owns 15 per cent of Nissan, with the Japanese company owning an equal stake in the French firm.
According to Reuters Honda is currently worth $38.8 billion and Nissan’s market capitalisation is $7.6 billion which would make any deal the biggest since Fiat, Chrysler and PSA (Peugeot-Citroën) came together in 2021 to form Stellantis. Honda and Nissan’s sales amounted to 7.4 million vehicles in 2023 and if the two companies did become one they would likely end up as the third-largest manufacturer in the world behind Toyota and VW.
Nikkei Asia suggests that discussions are moving fast, but for now all that Honda and Nissan are saying is, “As announced in March of this year, Honda and Nissan are exploring various possibilities for future collaboration, leveraging each other’s strengths.”
