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According to insiders, Japanese car manufacturers Honda and Nissan want to work more closely together and are also exploring a possible merger. The aim is to assert themselves against market leader Toyota in these difficult times for the industry, said one of the two insiders. According to another person, the companies are discussing a complete merger and are also examining a collaboration with Mitsubishi Motors, in which Nissan is the largest shareholder with a 24 percent stake.
The merger of Honda and Nissan would create a $54 billion company with annual production of 7.4 million vehicles. It would be the world’s third-largest automaker by vehicle sales after Toyota and Volkswagen. A deal would also be the largest in the industry since the $52 billion merger between Fiat Chrysler and PSA in 2021 that created Stellantis.
The Japanese newspaper “Nikkei” was the first to report on the talks, citing insiders. According to the paper, the companies wanted to operate under a single holding company, the paper wrote on Tuesday. They are expected to sign a letter of intent for the new merged company soon. The French car manufacturer and Nissan major shareholder Renault said it had no information on this.
The company declined to comment further. Nissan and Mitsubishi pointed out that they had previously jointly announced that they would examine options for future cooperation.