Nissan, Honda announce merger, creating world’s third-largest carmaker
Al Jazeera
Plans, which include Mitsubishi, announced as Japan tries to gain foothold in electric vehicle market.
Japan’s Honda and Nissan are planning a merger, which would create the world’s third-largest carmaker as the industry pivots away from fossil fuels.
The company’s two presidents, Toshihiro Mibe of Honda and Makoto Uchida of Nissan, signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday, projecting the establishment of a holding company by August 2026, which could potentially position them third in the market after Toyota and Volkswagen.
Honda, currently Japan’s second-largest carmaker, is widely viewed as the only national partner able to rescue Nissan, which has struggled since former chairman Carlos Ghosn was arrested on charges of fraud and misuse of company assets in 2018.
Ghosn, who denied the charges and fled to Lebanon after being released on bail, derided the planned merger as a “desperate move” in a video call to reporters on Monday.
Nissan, valued at about $10bn, said in November it was slashing 9,000 jobs, or 6 percent of its global workforce, and reducing its global production capacity by 20 percent after reporting a quarterly loss of 9.3 billion yen ($60m).
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