Honda and Nissan plan major merger focused on ‘intelligence and electrification’

Japanese car giants Honda and Nissan are working out the details of a major merger that could create the world’s third-largest automaker, as the companies look to survive in an industry faced with uncertainty.

The Tesla-led shift toward electric vehicles, and China’s increased importance in the automotive market, have companies like Honda and Nissan feeling the pressure to compete. If they go through with the merger, it could be completed by 2026. Nissan’s partner company Mitsubishi is supposed to decide by the end of January 2025 whether it would join this new alliance.

Nissan and Mitsubishi are already in a partnership with French automaker Renault, though that relationship has grown increasingly fraught — especially after former chairman of the alliance, Carlos Ghosn, was arrested in Japan on allegations of financial misconduct and subsequently fled the country. “As the main shareholder of Nissan, Renault Group will consider all options based on the best interest of the Group and its stakeholders,” a spokesperson for Renault said in a statement.