Apparently, Honda and Nissan have been in talks with one another about a potential merger in order to face off against electric vehicle ( EV ) manufacturers, particularly in China.
The two Chinese automakers made a commitment to investigate a potential partnership for electric vehicles in March.
Both companies responded to the BBC with similar remarks, which said:” As announced in March of this year, Honda and Nissan are exploring several possibilities for upcoming engagement, leveraging each other’s advantages”.
It comes as some car manufacturers struggle with growing competitors as the sector switches from gasoline and diesel to electric vehicles, with China’s manufacturing growing.
Honda and Nissan have been losing market share in China, which accounted for about 70 % of all EV sales worldwide in November.
The two companies combined worldwide profits of 7.4 million cars in 2023, but they are struggling to thrive with less expensive EV makers like BYD, which has seen its quarterly earnings jump, beating Tesla’s for the first time in October.
The Nikkei, a Japanese company news, did not dispute the tale, which Honda and Nissan have no denied, but said it was” not something that has been announced by either business.”
” We will update our partners as necessary,” the statement states.
For a variety of factors, a possible merger between Japan’s top-selling and top-tier automakers may be challenging.
Any agreement is likely to face significant democratic attention in Japan, as it could lead to significant job losses. Nissan is even possible to have to break up with French automaker Renault.
Honda and Nissan made a commitment to work together on capacitors and other technologies in their Automotive firms in March, and in August, they reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate.
In August, the two companies also announced an agreement with Mitsubishi to discuss intelligence and electrification.
According to Edmunds scientist Jessica Caldwell,” the thought that some of these smaller players may survive and thrive is getting more hard,” especially when you consider the complexity of all the more Taiwanese manufacturers who have entered and are competing very aggressively.
” It’s just kind of essential to live, not only to survive, but also simply to obtain the future”.