Nissan is certainly not doing well. The Japanese government seems to have been so concerned about it, that an attempt has been made to get Nissan and Honda to work together.
The alliance between Nissan, Mitsubishi and Renault has come under considerable pressure over the past two years. Things started to rumble when CEO Carlos Ghosn was deposed and on top of that, the brands each have their struggles. It leads to restructuring, whereby Nissan and especially Mitsubishi, among other things, get a lot less presence in Europe. They need to focus on markets where the alliance believes there are more opportunities. Meanwhile, partly due to the crisis, Renault has also ended up in very difficult weather. Enough worries with the alliance.
There are concerns about the future not only within the brands, because the Japanese government also seems to have looked at the developments with great fear. A strong Nissan is of course of great importance to the economy. According to the Financial Times Accordingly, there have been attempts from relevant government agencies to persuade Nissan to merge with Honda. Two major Japanese brands joining forces, that could be a major boost for both parties, according to the people involved.
The proposal would have been made last year, but resolutely pushed off the table by both Nissan and Honda. The traditionally independent status of Honda probably plays a decisive role in this, but Nissan would also have seen nothing in it to expand the alliance even wider. With the existing brands together, restructuring was already needed to be able to deliver more targeted good products again, so an extra brand might have made things more complicated. “Such a merger only seems logical to people who don’t understand the auto industry,” reads the blunt criticism of an unnamed Nissan executive in conversation with the Financial Times.