Honda and Nissan to Merge by 2026, Mitsubishi May Join
The chief executives of Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors appeared at a joint press conference in Tokyo Monday to announce plans for a merger that would represent a “seismic shift” in the global automotive manufacturing industry, according to USA Today’s Julia Gomez and Mike Snider.
A merger of Honda and Nissan alone would form the world’s third-largest automaker, trailing only Toyota and Volkswagen. Mitsubishi, which is partly owned by Nissan, will decide whether to join by the end of January.
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe (pictured at center, flanked by Nissan President and CEO Makoto Uchida and Mitsubishi President and CEO Takao Kato) was blunt when discussing the forces driving the discussions.
“The rise of Chinese automakers and new players has changed the car industry quite a lot,” Mibe said. “We have to build up capabilities to fight with them by 2030, otherwise we’ll be beaten.”
Gomez and Snider noted an incoming Trump administration could complicate the deal. President-elect Donald Trump could seek concessions before approving a deal to merge the companies’ U.S. operations. He has vowed to levy hefty tariffs on vehicles manufactured in Mexico, where Honda and Nissan have plants, and Canada, where Honda has one factory; both also manufacture vehicles in the U.S.
