Honda and Nissan’s impending merger could come at the cost of the latter’s long-standing partnership with Renault, which may be asked to pack its things and leave before the new alliance begins.
Last month, the Japanese carmakers announced plans to merge in mid-2026, after a definitive agreement laying out the specifics of the deal, including share transfers, is completed by June 2025.
Nissan is currently a part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, founded in 1999 between the former pair of carmakers, before the latter joined in 2016.
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According to business publication Bloomberg, Japanese outlet Kyodo News has reported that Honda wants Nissan to buy out Renault’s 35.7 per cent stake in its partner, citing insider sources.
The stake, reportedly worth about 557 billion yen (A$5.78bn), is reportedly causing Honda concern, as it believes Renault’s stake could be purchased by a third-party during negotiations with Nissan.
Neither Honda nor Nissan responded to Kyodo News’ request for comment.
Renault only recently reduced its stake in Nissan, from 43.4 per cent to the current 35.7 per cent holding.
Mitsubishi will decide on whether it’s joining the merger by the end of January 2025. Nissan is its largest shareholder but recently sold off an undisclosed portion of its 34 per cent stake.
A merger between Honda and Nissan would make the new Japanese alliance the world’s third-largest carmaker, based on 2023 sales volumes, behind market leader Toyota (including Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino) and the Volkswagen Group.
In 2023, Honda and Nissan sold 7.35 million vehicles, while Mitsubishi sold approximately 900,000, further increasing the total.
The potential three-brand merger would almost split Japan’s automotive industry in half, with Toyota heading the other side, as it also has minority shareholdings in Subaru, Suzuki, and Mazda.
When recently asked what makes Nissan a strong business partner, Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe responded: “That’s a difficult one”.
A senior official close to Nissan last year told The Financial Times “we have 12 or 14 months to survive”.
While Nissan’s financial woes have been largely attributed to slipping performance in the US and China, it’s a different story in Australia where the brand outperforms Honda.
Nissan delivered 45,284 vehicles here in 2024, when Honda managed just 14,092 deliveries.
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