Honda and Nissan announced in December 2024 that they had signed a memorandum of understanding to work towards a merger. The plan was to create a joint holding company that would have been among the world’s largest carmakers by sales. Mitsubishi Motors had also agreed to take part in discussions.
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The companies said they would merge their operations into a joint holding company, with Honda taking the lead. Reports at the time said the combined business would be worth about $50 billion to $60 billion. The timetable called for an agreement by June 2025.
Why the talks ended
Honda proposed changing the structure so that Nissan would become its subsidiary, rather than a joint holding company. Reuters and the Wall Street Journal reported that Nissan was unwilling to accept that structure. On February 13, 2025, Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi announced that they had ended the talks.
What happens next
The three companies said they would continue to collaborate on electric vehicles and software within a strategic partnership. Nissan has said it is looking for new partners, and Foxconn’s chairman said the company would consider buying shares in Nissan if cooperation required it.
Editor’s note: an earlier version of this article was written as if the merger was still being planned and included text generated by an AI tool that stated an outdated cut-off date. It has been rewritten to report that the talks ended in February 2025.
Sources
- Autocar India, Honda and Nissan end merger talks (13 February 2025): https://www.autocarindia.com/industry-amp/honda-nissan-merger-talks-end-434564
- Digital Dealer, Nissan, Honda end merger talks (14 February 2025): https://digitaldealer.com/news/nissan-honda-end-merger-talks/163888/
- RetailWire, Honda and Nissan officially scrap $60 billion merger (13 February 2025): https://retailwire.com/honda-nissan-scrap-merger/
- Ain.ua, Honda-Nissan merger collapses (14 February 2025): https://en.ain.ua/2025/02/14/honda-nissan-merger-collapses