Auto industry
Report: Nissan and Honda consider merger
Japanese carmakers have fallen behind in electric vehicles. Now, according to a report, Nissan and Honda are considering merging. Mitsubishi Motors will also be there.
According to media reports, the two Japanese car manufacturers Honda and Nissan want to talk about a possible merger in view of the tough global competition in electric vehicles. As the Japanese business newspaper “Nikkei” reported, citing informed circles, the number two and three in the industry are considering setting up a holding company for this purpose, into which they also want to incorporate Mitsubishi Motors. The two companies simply said that they were considering various options for future collaboration, but that no decisions had been made yet.
Together they would form the third largest car company in the world with sales of more than eight million vehicles, moving closer to Toyota and Volkswagen. Japanese automakers wanted to pool resources to better compete against Tesla and Chinese electric vehicle makers in a rapidly changing auto industry, the report said. The share price of Nissan – the largest shareholder in Mitsubishi Motors – rose sharply in response to the alleged merger plans.
Nissan and Honda announced in March that they would work together to develop electric vehicles and software technologies to reduce costs and improve their competitiveness. Japanese car manufacturers have fallen behind globally in these areas. Mitsubishi Motors joined the talks in August.
dpa
Source: Stern
