Merger Between Honda And Nissan Is Officially Over

The “marriage” has officially been called off. According to press releases from both Honda and Nissan, both automakers have confirmed that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has now been terminated, meaning that the merger is officially over.

Here’s a recap of the entire timeline. In December 2024, Honda and Nissan announced that there was going to be a merger between the two automakers, with negotiations finalising during June 2025 and creating a holding company starting 2026, with Mitsubishi Motors initially being included as well.

The merger was aimed to reduce costs of electric vehicle development, while also sharing technologies and software between the three automakers to compete with the rising global EV giants such as BYD and Tesla. If the merger had gone through successfully, it would’ve created the world’s third largest automaker group.



However, Honda wasn’t convinced that Nissan could make a financial turnaround despite the struggling automaker cutting 9,000 employees and reducing its global capacity by 20%. Therefore, Honda had proposed a new offer, which was to make Nissan their subsidiary company. Naturally, Nissan’s higher ups weren’t thrilled about the offer, as the signed MoU stated that both automakers are to have equal footing in the holding company.

By then Mitsubishi Motors had already pulled out of the merger, stating that they had an inability to find the benefits for them in the merger. 

The drama escalated when reports of Nissan’s CEO meeting Honda’s counterpart to cancel talks had surfaced on Nikkei Asia. Both automaker’s representatives had refused to answer any questions, stating that the final decision was to fall in mid-February, which is today.



“As a result of these discussions, both companies concluded that, to prioritise speed of decision-making and execution of management measures in an increasingly volatile market environment heading into the era of electrification, it would be most appropriate to cease discussions and terminate the MoU,” the press release stated.

While the merger is ultimately called off, Nissan has already stated that they’re looking for a new partner, with Foxconn being a potential candidate. The world's largest electronics manufacturer has expressed interest in collaborating with Nissan, but the automaker hasn’t given a response as of yet.

With Nissan officially being back on the market, who else will try their hand at another partnership? Let us know your thoughts down below.


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Read More: Nissan Is Looking For New Partners, Including Potential Deal With Foxconn

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