Last week Nissan announced a new recovery plan to dig itself out of its downward spiral. It announced that its deficit for the fiscal year ending in March 2025 had swelled to $4.5 billion and that it will close seven factories and cut 20,000 jobs (15 percent of its workforce). At the same time a new plan hopes returns is fortunes to the black by 2027, and a surprising new name has been bandied about as a potential backer: Toyota.
According to a report by Automotive News, a source told Japan’s Mainichi News that a Toyota executive reached out to Nissan after the latter’s merger negotiations with Honda fell through:
When negotiations between Nissan and Honda Motor Co. abruptly ended in February, a Toyota executive contacted Nissan to offer support, Japan’s Mainichi daily reported May 18, without saying where it obtained the information.
No details were given, and neither company has said anything publicly. The report says that a Toyota spokesperson is looking into the report’s validity.
Toyota and Nissan have long been fierce rivals, the only two Japanese car companies that have competing models for every segment. However, this isn’t as unthinkable as GM offering Ford a lifeline.
As Japan’s far and away most successful carmaker, Toyota has long advocated for a robust automotive industry. Toyota is so secure in its top position that it’s no longer threatened by other companies and sees itself more as an older brother for the entire Japanese auto industry. That’s why Toyota is known for restoring cars from other manufacturers, the Toyota Automobile Museum showcases cars from all marques, it’s not scared of displaying cars from other marques at car shows, and Akio Toyoda once listed his favorite cars from rival brands.
Back when Honda and Nissan were in talks, Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda said that Nissan had not approached him for help. He theorized that they might have been wary of the Japanese government cracking down on them for potentially violating monopoly laws. Toyota already owns 20 percent of Subaru, about 5 percent each in Mazdam, Isuzu and Suzuki, a bit of Yamaha, and all of Daihatsu. However, not owning a percentage stake would not preclude the two giants from parts sharing or badge engineering.
We think a tie-up is unlikely, but if something does happen between Toyota and Nissan it would be a partnership of epic proportions. As with Honda, it’s hard to see what Toyota would gain from it, but Toyota is in a better position help with its massive reserves of cash. It would also ensure that one of Japan’s most beloved brands doesn’t get taken over and diluted by an entity that doesn’t understand the country’s car culture.
…. I (also) think that the only thing Toyota may have to do business with / towards Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi Motors, Hino Motors, Daihatsu, Yamaha, Subaru, Mazda, Suzuki and Isuzu (as well as another non-carmaker Kawasaki) would have been that (but deeply) interesting for the Nagoya-based car manufacturer to call on Stellantis (formerly known as PSA Peugeot Citroen and Fiat SpA / Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) and the latter’s shareholder Exor NV in ways to ensure that the Netherlands-based corporations (Stellantis and Exor which also owns Ferrari and Iveco) would advise Toyota to buy shares in each of them like Stellantis – which is not only given that PSA and FCA’s successor already has links with Toyota (which was dated back when Innocenti partnered with Daihatsu before the former had folded and merged with Fiat in 1990) but also Stellantis already has connections with Nissan and Honda in China (via long-time market partner Dongfeng) which would even have Toyota help Stellantis liquidate the CR-V, X-Trail / Rogue, Outlander, Dutro, Charade, V-Max, Forester, CX-5, SX4 and MU-X manufacturers for the same reasons PSA did after buying Chrysler Europe / Chrysler UK (formerly Rootes Group) in 1978.
Also, what Toyota would expect from Stellantis’ association is that if the former were already own shares / stakes in the latter, then it would also be like when Mitsubishi owned bits in Hyundai at the same time it (Hyundai Motor Company) took over Kia Corporation from Ford (former Mazda owner) in 1998. Not only given that Mitsubishi supplied technology to Hyundai starting with the [Hyundai] Pony in 1974, but also, both automotive companies had connections with Stellantis (Chrysler owned Mitsubishi and the latter paired with both PSA and FCA in the 2000s-2010s courtesy of Peugeot 4007 and Fiat Fullback for examples) so as examined by the impact of Japan’s dark economic legacies (dating back the 1980s), 2008 global financial crisis, 2010 Toyota recalls, 2020 pandemic, 2022 Russia-Ukraine crisis, this year’s Trump tarrifs and among others, therefore Toyota’s approach to deal with that of Honda and Nissan / Datsun may help benefit Stellantis so that the PSA-Fiat Group successor would liquidate and replace all of Toyota’s competitors at home (including Renault Group) with not just Stellantis itself, similar to how General Motors was dealing with Toyota while GM planned to remove and trade the Daewoo name in favcr of Chevrolet / Chevy, but also the demise of Honda, the whole Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, Hino, Daihatsu, Yamaha, Subaru, Mazda, Suzuki, Isuzu and additionally Kawasaki would even have the Amsterdam-based automotive conglomerate to bring each of the former Fiat Chrysler’s units like the eponymous Fiat marque, Alfa Romeo (Giulia / Julia from Tekken), Maserati (Studio Ghibli), Lancia and especially Jeep back in the Asia-Pacific markets at all costs. (This is not due to the fact that antagonism towards Japan in South Korea has already been deepen, but also, the loss of Toyota’s homegrown rivals at home may even benefit that of Dodge and Chrysler particularly in the US market.)
Perhaps, as it would have been a joy to see Akio Toyoda wearing a MAGA hat paired with a T-shirt featuring each of Stellantis’ brands (for ex. Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat, Alfa / AR, Lancia, Jeep) just as how Morizo would keep engaging to people with Stellantis connections (ex. Sebastiens Loeb and Ogier, Carlos Sainz Sr. and Jr., the Agnelli and Elkann families) and sane / sensible European leaders like Viktor Orban, Giorgia Meloni, Robert Fico and Aleksandar Vucic (the latter’s country Serbia is also a key hub for Stellantis products along with Fico’s Slovakia), but also seeing Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi and most of Toyota’s domestic challengers to be gone for good while Toyoda-san shifts himself to drive and appreciate the rest of the vehicles from the Stellantis concern and Renault Group (hence the Jeep connections) would have been like how the title of Wim Wenders, Charlotte Gainsbourg, James Franco and Rachel McAdams’ film / movie says “Every Thing Will Be Fine:”… (And since Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg’s daughter has been profoundly overlooked in Hollywood / US entertainment community, then it would even be fantastic to have Mademoiselle Gainsbourg, lookalike from across La Manche aka English Channel Daisy Edgar-Jones, Stacy Martin, Lucy Boynton, Laetitia Casta and daughter Sahteene Sednaoui, Camille Lou, Kaya Scodelario, Camille Razat from Emily in Paris, Jodie Comer, Ella Hunt, Juliette Binoche etc. riding along with Toyoda-san in such autos with Pentastar links like from former PSA / Fiat SpA and Renault Group since its thankful that the logos of Chanel and Toyota look a like…)
truly you have a dizzying intellect
A weird proposition this is, it would be like unofficially making Toyota the official head carmaker of the country, and making them bankroll the others… It could be great with the current Toyota leader, but ten, fifteen, twenty years on, they might force a strong and complete Toyota lineup and letting the others beg them to autorise them make this car or that car.
$4.5 billion is a lot of money to finance, and I expect the backers would want to ditch the management that let things go this bad and start anew, so having a successful carmaker backing them up would be a headstart, but like you wrote, it would be a step toward the two biggest carmakers becoming one quasi-monopoly. I can see money being lent along with management oversee with Nissan being asked to reimburse in a number of years, in order to keep both entity separate.
But with the usual way the huge Japanese conglomerates work, I wonder why they need another carmaker to save Nissan, surely some bank group could finance them with, with help from their government if needed, since they surely want to keep their citizen employed?
“It would also ensure that one of Japan’s most beloved brands doesn’t get taken over and diluted by an entity that doesn’t understand the country’s car culture…”
Pity if something like that would happen, non mon ami?
I second that emotion!