It’s the Japanese magazine Nikkei which reveals this information, the two Japanese automobile giants, Honda and Nissan, are reportedly in the process of negotiating a historic association to say the least. The objective of the two groups would obviously be not to be left behind by competition in the electric car market, and it seems that a certain Foxconn is also on the starting blocks.
Honda and Nissan (and Foxconn) hand in hand for the electric market?
Indeed, if the electric car continues to gradually gain market share around the world, certain territories are still struggling to hang on to the wagon. This is the case for Japan, since of the 14 million electric vehicles sold last year, no less than 95% of them were manufactured in China, Europe or the United States. An unacceptable observation for Japanese manufacturers.
Also, Honda and Nissan have reportedly agreed to the creation of a future holding company, which would allow the two groups to pool their respective technological resources, with the aim of (rapidly) making a name for themselves on the electric market. Remember that Nissan is already part of an alliance with Renault (and Mitsubishi), but that the manufacturer nevertheless retains a certain form of autonomy in its strategy.
On the Honda side, just like Nissan, has long focused on hybrid type engines, which explains the delay accumulated compared to other market players, starting with the American Tesla obviously, but also the Chinese giant BYD. Remember that Nissan is experiencing serious difficulties in the United States in particular, with sales falling by 26.3% over the last decade, not counting the 45% drop for Infiniti.
Already last March, Nissan was talking about a merger with its compatriot Honda. The collaboration between the two Japanese automakers then focused on the joint purchase of batteries, as well as the design and development of a shared platform.
Finally, according to the media Bloomberganother actor, Taiwanese this time, would have expressed his interest in this future Nissan/Honda association, namely Foxconn, notably at the origin of… our iPhones. It remains to be seen if and when this alliance will really be effective, and how the two automobile giants in Japan will manage to catch up.
Remember that Honda has already entered the electric market, notably with its small Honda e. while Nissan offers the Leaf, but also the Ariya crossover.
