Japanese giants Honda and Nissan are set to hold merger talks, according to a report by financial newspaper Nikkei.
The two firms announced plans to work together in order to co-develop electric vehicle platforms and batteries in a bid to take on increasing competition in the EV market.
According to Nikkei, the two firms are looking at joining forces under a single holding company. The paper added that Mitsubishi Motors, which Nissan holds a 24 per cent stake in, could also be included in the new group.
Nissan and Honda are Japan’s second and third largest car manufacturers, and combined to sell nearly 7.5 million cars worldwide last year.
According to Reuters, the two firms have issued identical statements saying that the report had not been announced by either company, and that they would inform stakeholders of any updates ‘at an appropriate time’.
Both statements read: “As announced in March of this year, Honda and Nissan are exploring various possibilities for future collaboration, leveraging each other's strengths,"
The announcement of details about Honda and Nissan’s EV partnership gave some hints as to the appeal of a possible greater tie-up between the two long-time rivals. Speaking at that time, Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said: “Emerging players are very aggressive and making inroads at incredible speed.”
The deal would have significant effects on the wider car industry. Nissan has been in a long-time alliance with French firm Renault, sharing platforms with each firm set to produce EVs for the other in the coming years.
This isn't the first time the two firms have been linked to a merger: in 2020, the Financial Times reported that then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had pushed the two firms into talks due to concerns over the deteriorating relationship between Nissan and Renault at the time. However, both firms were said to have rejected the plans.
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