With the Nissan-Honda merger now apparently fallen through, with the two Japanese carmakers not able reach a consensus on the terms, Nissan is now reportedly looking for new partners as it navigates the ever-changing automotive landscape amidst a financial crisis, Reuters reports.
Whilst sources mention that Nissan is currently in talks with a wide array of potential partners, including technology companies, Foxconn, a Taiwanese company known for manufacturing iPhones, has emerged as a serious contender.
Foxconn already has a presence in the automotive industry with its EV subsidiary, Foxtron. The tech company reportedly approached Nissan with an offer in early December 2024, but was turned down amidst ongoing discussions with Honda at that time.
Intriguingly, Foxtron is also led by a former Nissan senior executive, Jun Seki, who was once considered as a potential successor of the CEO position, before the job went to current boss Uchida.
Both companies did not respond to requests for comments by Reuters, for obvious reasons.
The Honda-Nissan merger, valued at USD 60 billion, would have created the world’s third-largest carmaker by volume and was seen as a potential lifeline to Nissan’s dire financial crisis. The company is currently facing global job cuts and production reductions, with a senior official previously commenting that Nissan had only “12 or 14 months to survive.”
However, the merger talks quickly became untenable due to multiple conflict of interests, particularly with Renault and Mitsubishi’s involvement due to their previous relationship as part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.
RELATED: No finance, no romance – Nissan pulls the plugs in merger talks with Honda
Additionally, the companies also disagreed on the concept of the merger. Honda proposed that Nissan become its subsidiary, although the latter claims that the proposal deviated from the original merger concept, which would place the two on equal footing under a joint umbrella company.
Despite the collapse of the merger talks, Nissan and Honda formed a partnership in early 2024 to focus on electric vehicle (EV) and artificial intelligence (AI) development in response to the growing dominance of Chinese EVs.
RELATED: Honda-Nissan merger – complicated relationship with Renault and Mitsubishi delays decision
