Nissan and Honda end $60bn merger talks

On 13 February 2025, Nissan and Honda announced that their boards had voted to end merger talks that would have created a $60bn (£48bn) automotive group, The Guardian reported. Both Japanese carmakers said they would continue to cooperate in the field of electric vehicles despite the collapse of the deal.

A merger would have produced the world's fourth-biggest carmaker by vehicle sales, behind Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai. Nissan, Japan's third-largest automaker, backed out of the talks with its larger rival Honda after negotiations were complicated by growing differences, including Honda's proposal that Nissan become a subsidiary.

The automakers, together with junior partner Mitsubishi Motors, had announced late last year that they would consider a merger. Mitsubishi was unlikely to participate, reports said.

What the companies said

"Going forward, the three companies will collaborate within the framework of a strategic partnership aimed at the era of intelligence and electrified vehicles," the trio said in a joint statement. Before announcing the merger discussions in December, Nissan and Honda had been holding separate talks on a technology collaboration, which they could outline the scope of later on Thursday.

The key China market and the car industry in general have been upended by the rapid rise of Chinese electric vehicle makers such as BYD. Nissan and Honda, like other carmakers, are facing the prospect of tariffs in the US, another major market.

Restructuring and a search for new partners

Nissan is pushing ahead with a restructuring plan, announced in November, that includes cutting 9,000 jobs and reducing global capacity by 20%. It has yet to disclose details such as which locations will be affected. The announcement will cause uncertainty for the company's 130,000-strong workforce, although the UK factory in Sunderland is thought to be unlikely to be affected.

Nissan is now open to working with new partners, with Taiwan's Foxconn seen as one candidate. Foxconn chair Young Liu said on Wednesday that the group would consider taking a stake in Nissan but that its main aim was cooperation. Foxconn produces iPhones in China for Apple.

Nissan has been hit harder than others by the shift to electric vehicles, having never fully recovered from years of crisis sparked by the 2018 removal and arrest of its former chair Carlos Ghosn. The company's market capitalisation is now nearly five times smaller than that of Honda, which stands at about 7.5tn yen (£39bn). A decade ago, the pair were both worth about 4.6tn yen.

Key facts

• The boards of Nissan and Honda voted to end merger talks on 13 February 2025.
• The proposed group would have been worth $60bn (£48bn) and ranked fourth in the world by vehicle sales, behind Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai.
• The three companies will continue cooperating on intelligent and electrified vehicles.
• Nissan's restructuring plan includes 9,000 job cuts and a 20% reduction in global production capacity.
• Honda's market capitalisation of about 7.5tn yen (£39bn) is nearly five times that of Nissan.

Company details

Nissan is a Japanese automobile manufacturer and the third-largest automaker in Japan. Website: nissan-global.com.