Nissan, Honda (and Mitsubishi) to officially discuss “business integration”
The birth of a new Japanese automotive powerhouse?
Nissan has been the talk of the automotive town for the last few weeks, and definitely not in a good way. News of financial troubles has cast a shadow over one of Japan’s largest and proudest automakers, with some insiders saying Nissan has 12 to 14 months to go.
Needless to say, there has been a great deal of anxiety. But there is a ray of light, and it’s in the form of another Japanese company: Honda.
Honda and Nissan (as well as Mitsubishi) have just held a joint press conference in Japan today to officially announce that they will start talking about “business integration” and have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The goal is to join forces to combine the strengths of both parties.
Nissan and Honda are already collaborating on technology and development, but have found that they will better serve to work together through business integration. The form this will take is establishing a joint holding company that will be the parent of both, and that’s what Nissan and Honda want to iron out through the formalizing of talks.
“Creation of new mobility value by bringing together the resources including knowledge, talents, and technologies that Honda and Nissan have been developing over the long years is essential to overcome challenging environmental shifts that the auto industry is facing,” said Toshihiro Mibe, Honda Director and Representative Executive Officer.
The press statement says that Nissan and Honda want to integrate management, HR, technology, and forge synergies to make both companies competitive in the future and enhance their respective values.
"Today marks a pivotal moment as we begin discussions on business integration that has the potential to shape our future. If realized, I believe that by uniting the strengths of both companies, we can deliver unparalleled value to customers worldwide who appreciate our respective brands,” said Makoto Uchida, Nissan President and CEO.
What will be interesting is how the companies will become bigger and more expansive not just in automobiles, but mobility as a whole. Honda is particularly interesting, as they have great strengths in motorcycles, marine, generation, and hydrogen. Nissan on the other hand, has technologies such as EV, e-Power, and the like. If the talks are successful, expect synergies there.
“Honda and Nissan are two companies with distinctive strengths. We are still at the stage of starting our review, and we have not decided on a business integration yet, but in order to find a direction for the possibility of business integration by the end of January 2025, we strive to be the one and only leading company that creates new mobility value through chemical reaction that can only be driven through synthesis of the two teams,” continued Honda’s Director.
Curiously, the mention of the “chemical reaction” is likely in reference to how Honda has banked on hydrogen fuel cell technology, rather than EV which has become the strength of China’s auto industry.
Mitsubishi is also a signatory on the MOU, and it will be up to them what level of participation they will engage in. Whatever the case, the next few months will be very interesting for the three automakers.
