Talks between Nissan and Honda to create a Titan in the car industry have ended without a deal being struck. Both companies have now announced that they are abandoning the prospect of a merger. The talks started after Nissan revealed that they are on the brink of financial collapse. But any chance of a deal collapsed after Honda allegedly wanted to make Nissan more of a subsidiary than a partner. In many ways this is understandable as Nissan are by far the lesser of the two companies in financial terms.
This did not sit well with the proud folk over at Nissan who apparently did not want to cede their autonomy. As they say, pride comes before a fall. Back in 2018 Nissan famously ‘outed’ their previously successful CEO, Carlos Gohn, primarily because he was making Nissan too much of a Renault clone and the Gohn cost cutting model was just not the Nissan way.
Since that time, I think it is fair to say that Nissan have been stuck very firmly in reverse. They have a laboured with an outdated model line-up and thus lacklustre sales. The rumour is that Honda did not think that the Nissan restricting plan unveiled last November, and updated on their website yesterday, was likely to fix the mess.
The merger was seen as crucial to Nissan to stave off bankruptcy but a tie-up between two bitter rivals with distinct histories and cultures was never going to be easy. Particularly if Nissan were to do what Honda insisted upon which was to get their house in order prior to a merger. You could well ask if Nissan got their house in order, then why would they need Honda?
The merger would have allowed greater investment of the new company into the field of Electric Vehicles (EV’s) where both companies lag behind. Both companies have vowed that their partnership to develop EV’s will continue that also includes Mitsubishi Motors who are developing the software. This is still a collaboration but a much looser one than the full-on merger deal that has now been abandoned.
So, where does this leave Nissan? They will most definitely be looking for a new suitor and this may cSo, where does this leave Nissan? They will most definitely be looking for a new suitor and this may come from Taiwan’s Foxconn as we wrote late last year. More famous for making iPhones they are known to have the ambition of being an EV player as well. This may well be the step forward that is needed by the beleaguered Japanese car giant, as long as their pride doesn’t get in the way again.
