Nissan Ends Merger Talks With Honda

The CEO of Nissan Motor Co. conveyed the company's decision to terminate merger talks with Honda Motor Co., a source familiar with the matter said, signaling the end of an initiative that would have created the world's third-largest auto group. Kyodo News reported.

Both companies wanted to be in the driver's seat. I Photo: Nissan Facebook

Makoto Uchida met with Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe during a visit to the headquarters of Japan's second-largest automaker in Tokyo.

The Nissan board leaned toward scrapping the negotiations after Honda proposed making Nissan its subsidiary—a suggestion that sparked strong opposition within the country's third-largest automaker.

Honda’s proposal to turn Nissan into a subsidiary, which deviated from the original plan to merge both brands under a holding company in 2026, came as Honda grew impatient with what it perceived as Nissan's slow progress in turning around its business.

At a December press conference unveiling the merger plan, Honda’s Mibe stated that a key condition for the deal was Nissan accelerating its restructuring efforts.

Nissan, which announced plans to cut 9,000 jobs worldwide and reduce global production capacity by 20% after reporting a more than 90% drop in net profit for the April–September period, has yet to present a detailed restructuring plan that satisfies Honda, sources said. Mainichi Shimbun also reported on the matter.

The high-profile merger was widely seen as an attempt by Honda to rescue Nissan, though both companies have rejected this characterization.