Nissan Says 'Thank You, Next' To Honda Merger --------------------------------------------- Nissan isn't giving up on love just yet. Despite the fact its merger deal with Honda to create the world's third-largest automaker seems to be in the shitter, the Japanese automaker is still looking for a potential partner. One of those possible partners has turned out to be Taiwan's Foxconn.
Nissan's CEO, Makoto Uchida, met with Honda's CEO, Toshihiro Mibe, earlier this morning to say he wanted to end discussions with Honda after it proposed making Nissan a subsidiary. Apparently, Nissan isn't into Dom-Sub play. From Reuters:
Nissan is now open to working with new partners, including technology companies, as it looks to navigate the technological upheaval brought by electric vehicles, software-driven cars and new, fast-moving Chinese manufacturers, the two people familiar with its thinking said.
It was also open to working with Taiwan's Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics maker, one of them said.
Foxconn, which manufactures Apple's, opens new tab iPhones and has been seeking to expand its nascent EV contract manufacturing business, approached Nissan about a bid but was rejected by the carmaker, Reuters reported in December.
Foxconn's EV business is led by a former Nissan senior executive, Jun Seki, who was once seen as a contender to become the automaker's CEO, before the job went to current boss Uchida.
Back in December of 2024, Honda and Nissan signed a memorandum of understanding to discuss a merger of the two automakers under a holding company. Things, however, have since fallen apart because of growing differences between the two. The main issue is apparently that Honda (a strong automaker) said it wanted to make Nissan (a comparatively weak automaker) into a subsidiary. Nissan decided that talks couldn't continue under that proposal.
Nissan will formalise the decision to withdraw from the MOU at a board meeting to be held before the company's third-quarter earnings announcement next week, the person added.
Honda's current stance is that it would not accept an integration unless Nissan agrees to become a subsidiary, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.
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A scrapping of the discussions raises questions about how Nissan, which is in the middle of a turnaround plan, can ride out its latest crisis without external help. Nissan has already announced plans to cut 9,000 workers and 20% of global capacity.
It's going to be very interesting to see where things go from here. I mean, it doesn't really seem like Honda needs Nissan, but in a lot of ways, this deal seems like a bit of a lifeline for Nissan. Some folks just don't like being told they're not as good as someone else.