Deal would create world’s third-largest carmaker with £46bn annual sales amid competition from China

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.

  • ThePowerOfGeek@lemmy.worldEnglish
    301·
    3 days ago

    I’m a big fan of Honda cars. Not much of a Nissan fan (I know lots of people swear by them, but I had a bad experience with a Nissan lemon years ago). And I’ve heard Mitsubishi cars are a complete joke from a reliability perspective. So this news does not fill me with hope. If they can drag the build quality up to Honda’s standards then fine. But that’s not usually how these things pan out.

      • Mr_Blott@feddit.ukEnglish
        4·
        2 days ago

        I’m baffled by that comment too.

        Nissan is Renault. Cheap, badly made junk. Not just in the US either

        Their reputation is gutter-level in Europe too

    • toast@retrolemmy.comEnglish
      21·
      3 days ago

      Don’t worry, when this new company eventually merges with Toyota, who already own parts of Subaru and Mazda, it will be perfectly positioned for acquisition by Stellantis.