Japanese automakers Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi drop their talks on business integration

Honda, Nissan, and Mitsubishi end talks on business integration, focusing on individual turnarounds in the auto industry.

Japanese automakers Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi said on Thursday (February 13, 2025) they are ending talks on business integration.

Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida said the talks had changed focus from setting up a joint holding company to making Nissan into a subsidiary of Honda.

“The intent was to join forces to win in the global competition, but this was not going to realise Nissan’s potential, so I could not accept it,” he told reporters. He said that Nissan was going to aim for a turnaround without Honda instead.

Honda Chief Executive Toshihiro Mibe said in a separate news conference that Honda had suggested a stock swap to speed up decision-making.

“I am really disappointed,” Mr. Mibe told reporters. “I felt the potential was great, but I also knew actions that would bring pain were necessary to realize that.” The automakers agreed to end their agreement regarding the consideration of the structure for a collaboration, a joint statement said.

Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Corp. announced in December that they were going to hold talks to set up a joint holding company. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. had said it was considering joining that group.

From the start, the effort had analysts puzzled as to the advantages to any of the companies, as their model lineups and strengths overlap in an industry shaken by the arrival of powerful newcomers like Tesla and BYD, as well as the move to electrification.