(Tokyo) Japanese automobile giant Honda and its struggling compatriot Nissan are expected to announce on Monday the opening of negotiations for a merger likely to give rise to the world number three to strengthen its position in the electric sector, according to the press Japanese.
Posted at 9:26 p.m.
This project comes at a time when traditional manufacturers are being crushed by the slowing down of the market and the costly transition to electric, a technological shift dominated by the American Tesla and Chinese groups, BYD in the lead.
Honda and Nissan have also seen their sales plummet in China, the world's largest market on which they are very dependent.
According to Japanese television NHK, the two manufacturers will bring together their respective boards of directors on Monday, before a joint press conference in the afternoon, Tokyo time.
Already associated in a “strategic partnership”, Nissan and Honda intend to finalize an agreement by June 2025, specifies NHK.
Mitsubishi Motors, of which Nissan is the main shareholder, would be involved “at the beginning of 2025” in talks to join the new entity, specifies the Kyodo agency.
Honda and Nissan, respectively the second and third Japanese manufacturers behind Toyota, want to come together under a common holding company and establish an industrial alliance in which each will be able to assemble their vehicles in the partner's factories, according to Kyodo.
A providential rapprochement for Nissan: heavily indebted, it suffered an unexpected net loss in the last quarter and drastically lowered its annual forecasts, its operating margin having almost completely melted.
In its two key markets, it saw its sales plunge in the United States, due to a lack of plug-in hybrids in the face of strong demand, and collapse in China, undermined by the domination of local brands in all-electrics.
At the beginning of November, Nissan announced that it would cut 9,000 positions from its global workforce and cut its capacity.
Honda, for its part, would benefit from an enlarged entity to more effectively launch fully electric cars, after the failure of the development of a joint vehicle with the American General Motors. The group is aiming for 100% electric vehicles by 2040.
A marriage would make it possible to share the expensive costs and risks of developing electric models and batteries, secure supply chains and gain competitiveness through economies of scale.
Japanese groups have long focused on hybrid vehicles (combining thermal and electric engines), very popular in Japan, where they represented 40% of sales in 2022… but neglecting the global rise of all-electric vehicles.
This allowed China to overtake Japan as the leading vehicle exporting country in 2023.
A merger would further blur Nissan's historic alliance with Renault, which is gradually reducing its stake in the Japanese group, after years of a stormy relationship.
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