Honda and Nissan broached a merger in 2024, but the talks blew up spectacularly before any sort of agreement could take place. A lot has happened in the two years since and now Honda’s CEO is hinting that a collaboration is close. It may not be an all-out merger, but there could be cooperation in some areas of business like sharing components.
Initial talks fell apart reportedly because Honda didn’t want a merger of equals. Instead, it wanted to turn Nissan into a subsidiary and Nissan refused. However, Honda has since been humbled by a dramatic pivot away from EVs. By doing so it took a historic loss never before seen in the company’s 70 years as a publicly traded company. Nissan has also since launched a massive cost-cutting plan and installed a new CEO.
According to the Nikkei Honda CEO and President Toshihiro Mibe, who recently survived a vote to keep his position despite calls for his dismissal, told shareholders that negotiations are “quite far along, with some aspects close to an announcement.” The rumor is that the two will co-develop a standardized ECU for use in Honda, Nissan, and Mitsubishi vehicles.
Additionally, Honda could bring its hybrid expertise to the table while Nissan contributes know-how in driver-assist technologies. Both are facing increased pressure from the new generation of Chinese vehicles, and the conventional wisdom is that cost savings in collaboration is a must if either company wishes to survive.
