Honda and Nissan have officially entered into talks to combine their companies by summer 2026, the companies announced Monday, a deal that would create the world’s third-largest automaker by sales.
A merger would bring the Japanese auto giants under a joint holding company, according to a news release. Mitsubishi, a longtime Nissan partner, also has agreed to join the negotiations.
I have owned Nissan cars for decades. The first was a Datsun 200SX. Mine was blue. The car was the size of a Ford Mustang. It took us to Las Vegas at least once and ran better than our Chevrolet on Highway 15.
I have also owned some Honda Accords and Honda Civics that were equally reliable.
Why these companies are negotiating is to giving them the muscle to compete with GM, Toyotal
The three brands already have a partnership to work on vehicle intelligence and electrification, which includes technological collaboration with the goal of achieving “carbon neutrality and a zero-traffic-accident society.”
The deal joins Japan’s second- and third-largest automakers, giving the combined company the scale to better compete in the tumultuous global auto market. Last year, Honda built nearly 4.2 million cars and sold nearly 4 million globally, while Nissan said it produced and sold about 3.4 million. By comparison, Toyota and General Motors sold about 10 million and 6.2 million vehicles in the same year respectively.
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