Report: Honda Wanted Nissan To Axe e-Power, Will Consider Merger Again If CEO Resigns

The Nissan-Honda merger first proposed back in Dec 2024 was called off officially by both parties last week, with both citing operation disagreements - Nissan was to be placed as a subsidiary to Honda, to which the former formally rejected.

The proposed Nissan-Honda merger was officially called off just last week, with both parties unable to come to an agreement. Officially, both had acknowledged Honda’s proposal of running Nissan as a subsidiary, to which the latter formally disagreed too.

Unofficially, insiders had noted the challenging requirements put forth by Honda, namely asking Nissan to triple its profits over one fiscal year and buy back shares from alliance partners Renault. Now,  more details have emerged detailing even more audacious disagreements.

Now, reports have surfaced indicating that a huge disagreement also stemmed from Honda's proposal for Nissan to abandon its e-Power electrified powertrain tech.

Key amongst which, reports Japanese newspaper Yomuiri Shimbun via it’s The Japan News English language section, was that Honda had proposed for Nissan to abandon its e-Power tech – an electrified powertrain technology invested in and developed heavily by Nissan over recent years.

Naturally, the report cites that the proposal was met with strong opposition, which in turn contributed to the widening rift between both firms. Though merger talks are now abandoned, both firms did acknowledge that collaboration could still happen, especially for electric vehicles (EVs).

Honda e:HEV hybrid tech pictured, as seen in the CR-V e:HEV RS. It would've arguably been cost-ineffective for both first to develop two different types of electrified powertrain technologies post-merger.

While it seems a bit much, Honda’s alleged proposed to shelve the Nissan e-Power tech does come from a sound place – it would’ve arguably been cost ineffective for both firms to develop two different types of electrified powertrain tech simultaneously had the merger was formalised.

That aside, it’s plain to see that it would be difficult for Nissan to abandon its e-Power technology now considering the bulk of its core products - i.e. Kicks - harness it. Moreover, it's worth noting that e-Power is not a conventional hybrid system.

Recently launched Nissan Kicks pictured, which harnesses Nissan's unique e-Power tech. It would be difficult for Nissan to abandon this tech given the high adoption rate for which amongst its products.

Asa refresher, e-Power combines a combustion engine with an electric motor, but the former is not mechanically connected to the wheels. It instead acts as a generator to charge a compact battery pack that powers an e-motor, resulting in what Nissan claims as EV-like drive dynamics.

In contrast, Honda’s own e:HEV hybrid tech is much more ‘conventional’ as it still relies on a combustion engine at its base to deliver propulsion on top of charging the hybrid batteries primed. Also, this tech is already primed in popular models like the CR-V, HR-V, and Civic.

More dramatically though comes reports indicating that Honda will still consider a merger with Nissan if its current CEO, Makoto Uchida (pictured), resigns. The exec also currently faced internal pressure to step down following the failed merger talks.

As if this wasn’t enough, another report by Financial Times citing insiders also revealed that Honda will still consider a merger with Nissan, but only if the latter’s CEO, Makoto Uchida, resigns.

In fact, the exec is reportedly facing internal pressure from his own board, which includes aforementioned shareholders Renault, to step down – likely as a consequence of the failed merger talks with Honda.

Nissan is reportedly in 'Survival Mode' with production and job cuts following the failed merger talks, and it's actively seeking for new partners to provide it with a much needed injection of capital.

Surely, this is one caveat, regardless of how dramatic it may be, that ailing Nissan cannot afford just yet. Recently, CEO Uchida had reportedly put the automaker into ‘survival mode’ by consolidating operations through both and production cuts.

At the same time, Nissan is actively seeking for new partners to provide it with a much needed injection of capital. Key candidates reportedly include Taiwanese tech conglomerate Foxconn who have openly mooted for cooperation instead of an acquisition, though that’s also possible.