Japanese automakers Nissan
and Honda
on Monday announced they had entered into official talks to merge and create the world’s third-largest automaker by sales.
In a news conference on Monday, Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe said the companies needed greater scale to compete in the development of new technologies in electric vehicles and intelligent driving. A business integration would give the companies an “edge that will not be possible under the current collaboration framework,” Mibe said, according to a translation.
The deal would aim to share intelligence and resources and deliver economies of scale and synergies while protecting both brands, he said.
A holding company would be formed as the parent company of both Honda and Nissan, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The larger Honda will nominate most of the integrated entity’s board members. The merged group has the potential to deliver revenue of 30 trillion yen ($191.4 billion) and operating profit of more than 3 trillion yen, he said.
Honda reported 1.382 trillion yen in operating profit for the full year to March 2024, versus Nissan’s 568.7 billion yen. The companies would have a combined value of nearly $54 billion, with Honda’s market capitalization contributing the greater $43 billion share.
Discussions are set to conclude in June 2025.
Mibe added that if approved, the integration would be a mid- to long-term project that is currently not expected to show visible progress until 2030 and beyond.
Nissan’s strategic partner, Mitsubishi, has been offered the chance to join the new group and will take a decision by the end of January 2025.
