Honda seems to be available to resume negotiations with Nissan, aiming for a merger between the two companies, provided that Nissan’s CEO, Makoto Uchida, resigns from his position. This information was revealed by the “Financial Times” this Tuesday, citing sources close to the negotiations between the two companies.
It is worth recalling that Honda and Nissan announced at the end of 2024 negotiations to potentially create the third largest car manufacturer in the world in terms of sales, behind Toyota and Volkswagen. The merger, which would also involve Mitsubishi Motors, aimed to reduce costs and increase competitiveness in electric vehicles and autonomous driving technology.
However, last week, the negotiations failed, plunging Nissan into even more uncertainty at a time when Chinese electric vehicle companies are revolutionizing the sector.
The failure of negotiations between the two Japanese manufacturers was primarily due to Honda’s proposal to make Nissan a wholly-owned subsidiary within the joint structure, which the latter immediately rejected.
“Several options were considered regarding the structure of the business integration. Honda proposed changing the structure from a joint holding to a structure where Honda would be the parent company and Nissan the subsidiary through a share exchange”, detailed the joint statement released last week.
Now Honda, and according to what the “Financial Times” reports, seems willing to revive negotiations with a Nissan chief who has the authority to manage internal opposition more effectively.
However, Nissan has already declined to comment on the “Financial Times” news to “Reuters“, while Honda has only stated that the report does not address anything that has been announced by the company.
