Nissan halts integration talks with Honda amid negotiation disagreements

Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan will suspend negotiations for a business integration, Asahi Shimbun reported on the 5th. Nissan and Honda discussed the integration in order to overcome crises such as a sharp decline in sales in China and delays in the transition to electric vehicles.

Earlier, Honda and Nissan held a board meeting in December last year and agreed to integrate under a holding company to be established in 2026. However, Honda pursued a plan to make Nissan a subsidiary, contrary to the original plan during the negotiation process, leading to Nissan's backlash and the decision to withdraw from the negotiations, according to Asahi Shimbun.

The companies planned to announce the direction of their business integration at the end of last month, but postponed the announcement to mid-month. As the negotiations dragged on, there were analyses in the industry indicating that Nissan and Honda were showing disagreements. While the two companies are currently suspending the integration negotiations, there is also a possibility that Nissan may consider resuming negotiations in the future.

If combined, the 2023 vehicle sales figures reach 7.35 million, with Nissan (3.37 million units) and Honda (3.98 million units) together. If the integration is realized, they would occupy the third position in global vehicle sales. The first is Toyota (11.23 million units), and the second is Volkswagen (9.23 million units).