Mega merger canceled

Honda and Nissan cannot reach an agreement

The talks between Nissan boss Makoto Uchida (left) and Honda managing director Toshihiro Mibe have not led to any results.(Bild: APA/AFP or licensors)

The merger talks between the two Japanese car manufacturers Honda and Nissan have failed. A merger worth 60 billion US dollars (around 58 billion euros) would have created the world's fourth-largest car manufacturer in terms of sales, after Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai.

Instead, the companies want to work together with Mitsubishi Motors in the "strategic partnership" planned since August last year, which is aimed at the digitalization and electrification of vehicles, the group announced in Tokyo on Thursday. Signs of a halt to the mega-merger had already been growing for days. According to media reports, the point of contention was Honda's intention to make the smaller car manufacturer Nissan a subsidiary, although the original aim was a merger of equals.

"Strategic partnership" against Chinese competition
The withdrawal from the talks will be finally decided by the Nissan board next week before the announcement of the next quarterly figures on February 13, an insider said days ago. The US broadcaster MSNBC also reported on Nissan's refusal to close its own factories and lay off employees.

The Japanese carmakers hoped that together they would be better able to defend themselves against the weakening business in China and the growing competition in the growing electric car market. Japanese car manufacturers have fallen behind globally in this area. Tesla and the Chinese manufacturer BYD are putting pressure on the Japanese in the USA and China. Nissan is struggling in the Chinese market in particular, where sales have fallen significantly.