Official: Nissan-Honda-Mitsubishi Confirm Merger Plans

Nissan-Honda-Mitsubishi partnership could potentially form the world’s third largest automaker by 2026.

This is it. After many rumours, including a potential Taiwanese takeover and speculations by an ex-boss, the Nissan-Honda merger talks are finally official. The two automakers recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to hold discussions over forming a new joint holding company, where Mitsubishi could also be participating.

Should this merger be fruitful, the new joint holding company could be formed as early as 2026, with Honda poised to initially lead the new management. More importantly, this new company could potentially become the world’s third-largest automotive group, worth up to $50 billion.

From the official joint statement, the three automakers announced that this potential merger is aimed at “maintaining global competitiveness and enabling the companies to continue delivering more attractive products and services to customers worldwide.” In other words, this sounds like the Japanese are finally feeling the pressure from the burgeoning Chinese automakers, especially in the new energy vehicle (NEV) front.

More details on this merger, the MoU signed yesterday was intended to mark the beginning of official merger talks, with both Honda and Nissan set to form a special committee to explore the details. As for Mitsubishi, the automaker has signed a separate MoU with both Honda and Nissan, with its participation in this ongoing merger set to be decided by the end of Jan 2025.

Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe

Ultimately, all three companies hope to reach a final agreement by June 2025. However, Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe clarified that this MoU is only the start of the merger talks, adding that “the possibility of this not being implemented is not zero.”

As we mentioned earlier, Honda is slated to initially lead the management of this new joint holding company, with Associated Press reporting that it will be formed by a joint share transfer, with the ratio that is yet to be determined.

Given the nature of this potential merger, we’d reckon that Honda, Nissan, and Mitsubishi would still remain as distinctive brands, although potential sharing of platforms and powertrains across the three brands would be something common to see. Not to forget, these three companies will also collaborate on future R&D and production efforts, so there’s a chance that we might be able to see a new product jointly developed by Nissan, Honda, and Mitsubishi in the near future.

A partnership of such nature is definitely not new in the automotive industry, as this is essentially what both VW Group and Stellantis are currently doing, with multiple brands working together in closer ties compared to the partnership between Toyota and Suzuki, Mazda, and Subaru. With this new partnership potentially becoming the third largest automotive group in the world, this effort will also further strengthen Japan’s position as an industry powerhouse, especially in the wake of the recent Chinese automotive revolution.

At the moment, it is unclear how the merger with Honda will affect the existing Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, although Nikkei Asia reported that the French national automaker will consider ”all options based on the best interest.”