Honda, Nissan relationship one step closer to being rekindled
After backing out of a proposed merger at the last minute in early 2025, it appears Honda and Nissan will partner up in some way soon.
One of the surprise stories in the automotive industry within the past two years was the shock announcement in late 2024 that Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi were investigating whether they could all merge, off the back of increasing pressure from Chinese brands.
With Nissan in dire need of help at the time, it looked like a deal would go ahead, though it eventually fell apart: Honda wanted to be the bigger brand, Nissan wasn’t willing to let that happen.
Nissan’s CEO subsequently resigned, leaving the door open for his successor to announce radical changes to the business. Meanwhile, Honda has posted its first ever annual financial loss, while Mitsubishi seems to be waiting on the sidelines.
Though many expected the door to be shut to any future relationship between Honda and Nissan (the latter of which is already part of an alliance with Mitsubishi and Renault), Honda CEO and President Toshihiro Mibe has reportedly said an announcement for a new partnership is almost imminent.
As reported by Nikkei Asia, Mibe said a potential collaboration with Nissan is “quite far along, with some aspects close to an announcement”.
“We are proceeding with each project in a win-win relationship,” Mibe added.
According to the publication, a part of the new relationship could see Honda and Nissan vehicles use common Engine Control Units (ECUs), starting as early as 2029 or 2030, while other projects could occur in the future.
In November last year, newly appointed Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa told Nikkei Asia his car company is continuing talks with Honda, with the lucrative US market a key component of the new approach.
“We are talking about how we can collaborate in the US,” Espinosa said.
“Is there any opportunity for joint product development or for powertrain development? These are the topics that we are discussing.”
The news of a relationship being back on the table comes after Honda announced in May it had posted an operating loss of 414.3 billion yen (A$3.72 billion) for the 2025-2026 Japanese financial year (April 2025 to March 2026), a significant change on its previous operating profit of 1.21 trillion yen (A$10.9 billion).
Last week, Mibe addressed the brand’s shareholders for the first time since the announcement of its financial status at its annual meeting, which resulted in the executive apologising for leading the brand to its first loss in 70 years.
“I would like to express my deepest apologies to our shareholders for the significant concern and inconvenience caused by the net loss recorded in the previous fiscal year's financial results,” Mibe said.
