Nissan accelerated its merger talks with Honda to prevent Taiwan-based Foxconn, the maker of iPhones, from taking a stake in the Japanese automaker. This is according to a report published by Bloomberg News.
According to Japanese media, an announcement on a possible merger may be made as early as Monday, December 23. Before that, Honda Executive Vice President Shinji Aoyama has confirmed that the two carmakers are exploring several options including a capital tie-up or the establishment of a holding company.
The fast tracking of the possible Nissan-Honda merger, according to the report, was fueled by Taiwan’s Foxconn which had earlier approached Nissan to take a controlling stake. It’s unclear if Nissan had entered talks with Foxconn or already declined its proposal. The position of Renault, Nissan’s largest shareholder, is also uncertain.
Foxconn is investing heavily in factories to build battery electric vehicles and it has former Nissan Chief Operating Officer Jun Seki as the head of Foxconn’s EV strategy division. Seki left Nissan in 2019 after he expressed frustration at the company’s turnaround plan.
The planned Nissan-Honda merger could be expanded to include Mitsubishi Motors. If that happens, it would effectively consolidate the Japanese auto industry into two main camps—one one controlled by Honda, Nissan, and Mitsubishi, and another consisting of Toyota which also has stakes in Subaru, Suzuki, and Mazda.
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