Sean McLain and Megumi Fujikawa of The Wall Street Journal report that Nissan has rejected Honda’s revised merger proposal, which would have made Nissan a subsidiary. Talks are ongoing, with a decision expected in mid-February. The merger would create the world’s third-largest automaker, but Nissan is struggling with market share in the U.S. and China. They write:
Nissan’s board has determined that Honda’s terms for a combination of the two automakers are unacceptable, people familiar with the matter said, endangering a merger plan designed to shore up Nissan’s faltering business.
In a statement, Nissan said no decision had been reached but one option under discussion was scrapping its December agreement with Honda to aim for a merger. Both automakers said talks were continuing and they aimed to announce their direction in mid-February.
The two Japanese automakers said on Dec. 23 that they planned to combine under a structure in which Honda and Nissan would both be subsidiaries of a single holding company. […]
The initial merger plan had drawn some skepticism, in part because of the differing corporate cultures at Honda and Nissan. Honda’s leaders have usually been engineers. Nissan historically favored graduates of the prestigious University of Tokyo, and its top jobs often went to sales leaders. […]
Morningstar analyst Vincent Sun said Nissan’s issues included a lack of compelling EV offerings and heavier exposure to Mexico than other Japanese automakers. Like Honda, Nissan has factories in Mexico that make cars for export to the U.S., which may be hit if President Trump revives his plans for tariffs on made-in-Mexico goods.
Last year, Nissan made more vehicles in Mexico than in any other country, with China and Japan close behind.
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