Honda and Nissan consider shared production of vehicles amid growing global EV demand
TOKYO – Honda 7267.T and Nissan 7201.T are considering producing vehicles in one another’s factories as part of their talks to deepen ties, amid growing global demand for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, news agency Kyodo reported on Saturday, citing a source close to the matter.
The source added that Honda will also consider supplying hybrid vehicles to Nissan as part of the potential merger, endeavouring to meet the high demands for gasoline-electric vehicles in the North American market.
Honda, Japan’s second-largest car company, and Nissan, its third-largest, are in talks to deepen ties with an eye on potentially setting up a holding company, according to two people familiar with the matter. One of the people said the automakers are also discussing a potential merger.
As a condition for the merger, Honda is asking Nissan to achieve a V-shaped recovery in its performance while bolstering cooperation in the EV field, the sources said.
Such a merger could create the world’s third-largest auto group by vehicle sales, behind Toyota 7203.T and Volkswagen VOWG_p.DE, with an annual output of 7.4 million vehicles.
The two carmakers have launched fewer new EV models in the world’s largest auto market as they grapple with rising research and development costs. These costs are not only related to zero-emission vehicles but also to advanced technologies such as autonomous, connected, and shared vehicles, a challenge faced by many international automakers.
Global sales of fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles grew for the seventh consecutive month in November, rising 32.3% year-on-year to reach 1.83 million units, marking the third consecutive record high, according to data released on Friday by market research firm Rho Motion.
China continued to lead sales growth, accounting for almost 70% of total EV sales in the month, while registrations in Europe showed a marginal decline.
