Honda and Nissan to start talks on potential mega-merger
Guardian4 days
Honda, Nissan Hold Merger Talks
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Above: Makoto Uchida (L), president and CEO of Nissan, with Toshihiro Mibe, director, president, and representative executive officer of Honda, in Tokyo on Aug. 1, 2024. Image copyright: Richard A. Brooks/Contributor/AFP via Getty Images
The Facts
Japanese automakers Nissan Motor and Honda Motor on Wednesday said that they were "considering various possibilities for future collaboration," including forming a holding firm, but they denied any kind of merger had been finalized.
A Honda spokesperson said that "possibilities" currently on the table "include the latest reports [of a merger], but there is nothing decided." Together, the two firms sold 7.4M vehicles in 2023 and, in March, agreed to explore a tie-up for electric vehicles.
The Spin
Narrative A
Honda and Nissan's bold, unprecedented partnership will help them leverage each other's strengths. Honda's hybrid expertise and Nissan's truck capabilities will create an exciting opportunity to develop innovative, competitive vehicles that could rejuvenate two iconic Japanese firms in a rapidly changing global market.
Narrative B
In a potentially misguided move, Honda appears to be orchestrating a "disguised takeover" of Nissan and Mitsubishi, driven more by strategic opportunism than genuine collaboration. Despite hopes of synergy, the merger risks repeating past mistakes, where corporate ambition and cost-cutting trumped the creation of cars that truly resonate with buyers.
