Honda and Nissan Eye Historic Merger as Automakers Look to Dominate the Industry

Honda and Nissan are expected to start merger discussions on December 23, 2024, marking a new turning point for the automobile industry. Honda’s active participation in Taiwan’s Foxconn’s acquisition of the 15% stake held by Renault, Nissan’s largest shareholder, made the discussions possible. The integration discussions gained momentum as Honda was central in resolving Nissan’s management difficulties.

The two companies are likely to pursue a merger by establishing a holding company and incorporating each company under its respective subsidiary. Nissan is also considering incorporating its largest shareholder, Mitsubishi Motors. If the merger is realized, the global annual sales of the three companies—Honda, Nissan, and Mitsubishi—will exceed 8 million units, and they are expected to leap forward as a global automobile manufacturing group.

The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for business integration and have entered into detailed discussions. Future discussions will determine the timing of the holding company’s establishment, the integration ratio, and the composition of key management teams. The management of both companies plans to explain the background and goals of this discussion at a press conference on that day.

Honda and Nissan began examining the possibility of collaboration in March of this year and concluded a comprehensive business alliance in August. They have been discussing the standardization of vehicle software and components, and based on this, they have concretized the possibility of a merger. As of 2023, Honda’s annual sales volume was 3.98 million units, Nissan’s 3.37 million units, and Mitsubishi’s 780,000.