At a joint press conference held on December 23, 2024, Nissan Motor Corporation, Honda Motor Co., Ltd., and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation announced that they have decided to move forward with their talks regarding the strategic partnership of the companies that are centered on electrification and vehicle intelligence. Nissan and Honda signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on August 1, 2024, which set the framework for the talks. Through a joint share transfer, Nissan and Honda will merge under a new holding company by August 2026. The new holding company will serve as the parent company of both companies, which will maintain and continue developing both brands equally. Mitsubishi has until January 2025 to decide if it will join the consortium.
According to Toshihiro Mibe, Director and Representative Executive Officer, Honda Motor Co., Ltd., the merger aims to offer new value propositions and increase the scale advantages. Standardizing both companies’ vehicle platforms, improving development capabilities and cost synergies through integrating R&D functions, improving manufacturing systems and facilities, gaining scale advantages through integrating sales and finance functions, strengthening competitive advantages across the supply chain through integrating purchasing functions, and building a talent foundation for intelligence and electrification are all things that will help reach this goal.
Mibe believes that after the business integration, the new company has the potential to become a world-class, leading company in new mobility value creation, with a revenue of 30 trillion yen and an operating profit of over three trillion yen.
“What is important is to make sure that both Nissan and Honda continue driving its operations and build a strong business foundation of its own, rather than just establishing a holding company while maintaining the status quo. This is imperative,” he said.
The merger aims to integrate the operations of two strong companies, enabling them to pursue further growth through innovative approaches. The synergies created will enable innovative value propositions from diverse perspectives, including products, technologies, use of mobility, and users lifestyles.
Being the “stronger” company, Honda will have more internal and external directors in the joint holding company. Likewise, the president and representative director or president and representative executive officer of the joint holding company will initially be selected from the directors nominated by Honda but can change in the future.
“Honda and Nissan have begun considering a business integration and will study the creation of significant synergies between the two companies in a wide range of fields. It is significant that Nissan’s partner, Mitsubishi Motors, is also involved in these discussions. We anticipate that if this integration comes to fruition, we will be able to deliver even greater value to a wider customer base,” said Nissan Director, President, CEO, and Representative Executive Officer Makoto Uchida.
For his part, Honda Director and Representative Executive Officer Toshihiro Mibe said, “At this time of change in the automobile industry, which is said to occur once every 100 years, we hope that Mitsubishi Motors’ participation in the business integration discussions of Nissan and Honda will lead to further social change and that we will be able to become a leading company in creating new value in mobility through business integration. Nissan and Honda will start the discussion from today onwards with an aim to clarify the possibility of business integration by around the end of January in line with the consideration of Mitsubishi Motors.“
“In an era of change in the automotive industry, the study between Nissan and Honda about a business integration will accelerate synergy maximization effects, bringing high value also to the collaborative businesses with Mitsubishi Motors. In order to realize synergies and to make the best use of each company’s strengths, we will also study the best form of cooperation,” commented Mitsubishi Motors Director, Representative Executive Officer, and President and CEO Takao Kato.