Summary
Honda, Nissan, and Mitsubishi have confirmed merger talks to form the world’s third-largest carmaker by annual sales, aiming to tackle challenges from Chinese competition and the shift to electric vehicles.
The proposed merger, through a joint holding company, seeks to combine resources as Japan’s automakers struggle with declining sales and costly EV transitions, lagging behind leaders like Toyota and Chinese rivals BYD.
Nissan's former CEO Carlos Ghosn criticized the plan, citing overlapping operations, while executives called it a pivotal move amid unprecedented industry changes. Mitsubishi will decide on joining by January's end.
Hmm interesting. My take is it's a bit weird. But thinking about it, they could take the revenue from Nissan and put it towards EVs while winding Nissan down - no need to make Nissan ICE cars when you have Honda ICE cars. They're probably betting the income is worth the purchase price.
Nissan makes excellent sports cars. I've also had a Rogue and still have a Pathfinder, which have both been excellent vehicles. Honestly, I see more Nissans on the road where I live in the US than Hondas. Most of the Hondas I see are driven by 60+.