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Released February 14, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Honda Motor Company Limited (NYSE:HMC) (Tokyo, Japan) and Nissan Motor Corporation (Yokohama, Japan) said Thursday they canceled merger talks, opting to maintain their existing strategic partnership instead.
"Both companies concluded that, to prioritize 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 [memorandum of understanding]," the automakers said in a press release.
The merger would have created the world's third-largest car company. The merger also would have included Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (Minato, Tokyo).
"Going forward, Nissan and Honda will collaborate within the framework of a strategic partnership aimed at the era of intelligence and electrified vehicles, striving to create new value and maximize the corporate value of both companies."
In August, the companies signed a MOU separate from the merger, agreeing to collaborate on research and development in various technologies, including electric vehicles (EVs) and their batteries as well as software-defined vehicles (SDVs). SDV is a term for a vehicle able to manage and upgrade new applications and functionality through software as opposed to a mechanical process.
Among the benefits of deepening their strategic partnership are increasing competition, expanding their product portfolio and standardizing their EV-battery production, the companies said.
The companies have said they would explore Honda supplying Nissan with lithium-ion EV batteries starting after 2028 from Honda's joint venture with LG Energy Solution (Seoul, South Korea)--an EV battery-manufacturing plant near Jeffersonville, Ohio. The plant will have an annual capacity of 40 gigawatt-hours, with production scheduled to start by the end of the year. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can click here for a related project report and reports on potential subsequent phases that would further boost production.
Honda recently said it plans to begin producing EVs at its nearby Honda EV Hub, which will utilize battery modules from the Jeffersonville plant, by the end of the year. For more information on the automaker's investment in Ohio, see February 4, 2025, article - Honda to Begin Manufacturing EVs at Ohio Hub by End of 2025.
However, Nissan is experiencing some production and financial turmoil. The automaker in May of last year announced it was temporarily halting a $500 million retooling project at its vehicle assembly plant in Canton, Mississippi, delaying production of five new EV models to 2027-- three years after the initial start planned for 2025. "We are adjusting the timeline to ensure that we bring the vehicles to the market at the right time," the company stated. Last month, the automaker further delayed production to begin in 2028. Subscribers can click here to read more information on the project.
"Nissan remains committed to the future of mobility and electric vehicle production," Amanda Plecas, senior manager of Manufacturing and Communications for Nissan, told the Mississippi Clarion Ledger in early January.
Also last month, Nissan said it was offering voluntary buyouts to workers on production lines at its manufacturing plants in Canton, and Smyrna, Tennessee, respectively, in a cost cutting move. Shift changes are expected to begin in April, but the company has reiterated it does not plan to close either plant.
Click here to read a profile on the plant in Smyrna.
This comes as the automaker on Thursday reported its net revenue and profits for the April-December 2024 time period decreased year over year due to a decrease in unit sales, an increase in sales incentives, and inflation.
And in its first-half 2024 earnings release in November, it said it planned to cut global production 20% amid declining sales, "taking urgent measures to turn around its performance to create a leaner, more resilient business capable of swiftly adapting to changes in the market." But Chief Executive Officer Makoto Uchida said the measures "do not imply that the company is shrinking."
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
"Both companies concluded that, to prioritize 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 [memorandum of understanding]," the automakers said in a press release.
The merger would have created the world's third-largest car company. The merger also would have included Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (Minato, Tokyo).
"Going forward, Nissan and Honda will collaborate within the framework of a strategic partnership aimed at the era of intelligence and electrified vehicles, striving to create new value and maximize the corporate value of both companies."
In August, the companies signed a MOU separate from the merger, agreeing to collaborate on research and development in various technologies, including electric vehicles (EVs) and their batteries as well as software-defined vehicles (SDVs). SDV is a term for a vehicle able to manage and upgrade new applications and functionality through software as opposed to a mechanical process.
Among the benefits of deepening their strategic partnership are increasing competition, expanding their product portfolio and standardizing their EV-battery production, the companies said.
The companies have said they would explore Honda supplying Nissan with lithium-ion EV batteries starting after 2028 from Honda's joint venture with LG Energy Solution (Seoul, South Korea)--an EV battery-manufacturing plant near Jeffersonville, Ohio. The plant will have an annual capacity of 40 gigawatt-hours, with production scheduled to start by the end of the year. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can click here for a related project report and reports on potential subsequent phases that would further boost production.
Honda recently said it plans to begin producing EVs at its nearby Honda EV Hub, which will utilize battery modules from the Jeffersonville plant, by the end of the year. For more information on the automaker's investment in Ohio, see February 4, 2025, article - Honda to Begin Manufacturing EVs at Ohio Hub by End of 2025.
However, Nissan is experiencing some production and financial turmoil. The automaker in May of last year announced it was temporarily halting a $500 million retooling project at its vehicle assembly plant in Canton, Mississippi, delaying production of five new EV models to 2027-- three years after the initial start planned for 2025. "We are adjusting the timeline to ensure that we bring the vehicles to the market at the right time," the company stated. Last month, the automaker further delayed production to begin in 2028. Subscribers can click here to read more information on the project.
"Nissan remains committed to the future of mobility and electric vehicle production," Amanda Plecas, senior manager of Manufacturing and Communications for Nissan, told the Mississippi Clarion Ledger in early January.
Also last month, Nissan said it was offering voluntary buyouts to workers on production lines at its manufacturing plants in Canton, and Smyrna, Tennessee, respectively, in a cost cutting move. Shift changes are expected to begin in April, but the company has reiterated it does not plan to close either plant.
Click here to read a profile on the plant in Smyrna.
This comes as the automaker on Thursday reported its net revenue and profits for the April-December 2024 time period decreased year over year due to a decrease in unit sales, an increase in sales incentives, and inflation.
And in its first-half 2024 earnings release in November, it said it planned to cut global production 20% amid declining sales, "taking urgent measures to turn around its performance to create a leaner, more resilient business capable of swiftly adapting to changes in the market." But Chief Executive Officer Makoto Uchida said the measures "do not imply that the company is shrinking."
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
