Nissan and Honda officially announce plans to merge

[Kaido]

The union, including Mitsubishi, would create the world's third-largest automaker by sales:

Nissan and Honda officially announce plans to merge

Honda and Nissan have officially confirmed rumors that they're pursuing a merger, the companies wrote in a joint press release.

www.engadget.com

 

[Indus]

The union, including Mitsubishi, would create the world's third-largest automaker by sales:

Nissan and Honda officially announce plans to merge

Honda and Nissan have officially confirmed rumors that they're pursuing a merger, the companies wrote in a joint press release.

www.engadget.com

If they have a similar work culture.. it might work!

 

[WilliamM2]

Why would Honda want to merge with the two of the least reliable Japanese auto makers? Might as well grab Subaru too, and get all three.

 

[fralexandr]

Honda is pretty weak in the EV scene
so they're probably interested in Nissan's EV department.
Don't know about Mitsubishi. Maybe Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is included?

 

[Kaido]

If they have a similar work culture.. it might work!

Niisan supposedly had 12 to 24 months left to live:

Insider says Nissan has “12-14 months to survive”

Nissan is cutting staff and slashing production while it seeks a new longtime investor.

www.motorauthority.com

 

[Kaido]

Why would Honda want to merge with the two of the least reliable Japanese auto makers? Might as well grab Subaru too, and get all three.

Renault already owns a huge stake in Nissan & had saved them from bankruptcy previously:

Insider says Nissan has “12-14 months to survive”

Nissan is cutting staff and slashing production while it seeks a new longtime investor.

www.motorauthority.com

 

[Kaido]

Honda is pretty weak in the EV scene
so they're probably interested in Nissan's EV department.
Don't know about Mitsubishi. Maybe Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is included?

Nissan owns roughly a quarter of Mitsubishi:

Honda-Nissan-Mitsubishi merger to create 3rd largest automaker official

It's really happening: Honda, Nissan, and Mitsubishi are joining forces to operate together under a single holding company, in a bid to stave off fierce competition around the world.

newatlas.com

 

[IronWing]

Is the Japanese government pushing this to bailout Nissan? Even with EV, it doesn't make much sense for Honda.

 

[WilliamM2]

Renault already owns a huge stake in Nissan & had saved them from bankruptcy previously:

Insider says Nissan has “12-14 months to survive”

Nissan is cutting staff and slashing production while it seeks a new longtime investor.

www.motorauthority.com

Not sure how that answered my question at all. It makes Honda merging with them seem even more foolish.

 

[Kaido]

Not sure how that answered my question at all. It makes Honda merging with them seem even more foolish.

You said might as well grab Subaru...currently the investment would be Nissan + Honda + Nissan has 24.05% Mitsubishi + Renault has 36% in Nissan

 

[WilliamM2]

You said might as well grab Subaru...currently the investment would be Nissan + Honda + Nissan has 24.05% Mitsubishi + Renault has 36% in Nissan

I mentioned Subaru, as they are the only Japanese brand with lower reliability than Nissan and Mitsubishi. That's why I said grab all three, it was a joke.

Not sure why Honda wants to tarnish it's brand.

 

[Kaido]

I mentioned Subaru, as they are the only Japanese brand with lower reliability than Nissan and Mitsubishi. That's why I said grab all three, it was a joke.

Not sure why Honda wants to tarnish it's brand.

IP I'd guess, or government pressure. Leaf EV tech might be worth it...

 

[lxskllr]

What I read elsewhere is pressure from Chinese makers. Honda would get trucks from Nissan, and maybe some EV tech. Dunno what Mitsubishi has to offer, but if they're gonna compete with cheap Chinese cars, they're better together than apart.

 

[manly]

Auto mergers are notoriously difficult. Honda has strategic reasons to want to find a partner, but struggling Nissan seems like a bad target. As mentioned, foreign automakers have lost the game in China and Honda has no BEV tech in house. So they need to do something.

As for Subaru, Consumer Reports rated them as the most reliable automaker, ahead of Toyota.

Subaru the most reliable car brand: Consumer Reports

The automaker’s use of shared components across different models, increased their vehicle dependability rating.

www.automotivedive.com

Subaru would have been an excellent acquisition target about 10 years ago. Current market cap is about $13B, which isn’t too crazy.

 

[EXCellR8]

I mean Toyota owns like 35% of Subaru 🤷‍♂️

As for the Honda/Nissan/Mitsu merger... some parts are trivial to me but when talking about a global market that includes EV and equipment production... lots of details still to emerge.

All the best cars and trucks were made decades ago anyway so, meh.

 

[WilliamM2]

Auto mergers are notoriously difficult. Honda has strategic reasons to want to find a partner, but struggling Nissan seems like a bad target. As mentioned, foreign automakers have lost the game in China and Honda has no BEV tech in house. So they need to do something.

As for Subaru, Consumer Reports rated them as the most reliable automaker, ahead of Toyota.

Consumer reports is based on their subscribers, they are the only one claiming Subaru is most reliable. Toyota and Honda have long been the most reliable.

https://www.next-drive.co.jp/blog/most-reliable-japanese-car-brands-for-purchase-in-2021

Exclusive Poll: The Best Japanese Car Brands

Our exclusive poll show what U.S. consumers consider to be the best Japanese car brands.

www.topspeed.com

 

[manly]

I'm not saying CR is the go-to source for auto reliability, but they collect data that informs their annual ratings. I glanced at those two sources and TBH they seem fairly low-quality. And they actually both cite Consumer Reports to inform their conclusions.

Come on, an "exclusive poll" from TopSpeed readers is how we rate automotive reliability??

I'm not the one making the claim that Subaru is the lowest-quality Japanese automaker. Subjective reliability aside, Subaru was firing on all cylinders in the years leading up to the pandemic. Looks like their business has tapered off since, but gross profit is steady.

Personally I much prefer Honda cars, but there is a pretty solid gap in reliability between Toyota/Lexus and Honda/Acura (the gap used to be much narrower). I'd agree Honda does have strong brand equity in the U.S.

 

[repoman0]

Do Honda drivers inherit the big Altima energy of Nissan drivers if this happens?

 

[Torn Mind]

Japan's most nationalist carmaker is hosting a fine funeral for its operations.

The market for cars is clearly facing economic headwinds.

 

[WilliamM2]

I'm not saying CR is the go-to source for auto reliability, but they collect data that informs their annual ratings. I glanced at those two sources and TBH they seem fairly low-quality. And they actually both cite Consumer Reports to inform their conclusions.

They were just the first two I came across that were Japan only. Most ratings include all countries of manufacture.
I'm not saying Subaru are really bad cars, I'd take any Japanese car over American models. And my family makes a great living off selling American cars. Even though I can get those at cost, l still buy Toyotas or Hondas.

 

[zinfamous]

Do Honda drivers inherit the big Altima energy of Nissan drivers if this happens?

OMG they are the fucking worst around here. But I've also noticed this in Camry drivers who, for some reason when only having that overpriced body kit on their slow ass camry, still think they're fricking fricking ayrton senna on the road. It's baffling.