Honda eager to step up collaborate with Nissan, Mitsubishi
A merger between Honda and Nissan would have brought significant cost-saving synergies, from sharing research and development costs, supply chains, production and sales networks, and new product development, at a time when they are facing an unprecedented surge in global competition from Chinese automakers. The two companies failed to agree on the terms of the merger, with Honda expecting to become the majority shareholder in a merged company, which Nissan was unable to accept.
Switch Auto Insurance and Save Today!
Affordable Auto Insurance, Customized for You
The Insurance Savings You Expect
Great Rates and Award-Winning Service
Honda's market capitalisation, currently at just under JPY 8 trillion (US$ 54 billion), dwarfs Nissan's JPY 1.14 trillion. Honda, which also makes consumer products and motorcycles, produced 3.7 million vehicles in 2024 - 20% more than Nissan's 3.1 million units.
In the first five months of 2025, Honda reported a 9% drop in global vehicle output to 1.45 million units, while Nissan reported a 13% decline to 1.19 million units – in both cases driven lower mainly by plunging sales in China. The companies have so far struggled to keep up with the strong, Chinese-led growth in the global battery electric vehicle (BEV) segment.
Maximising global synergies while retaining independence
Honda and Nissan, along with the latter's Alliance partner Mitsubishi Motors, are keen to maximise global synergies as independent companies – as part of a looser alliance also involving other companies. At the company's annual shareholders' meeting in June, Honda's CEO Toshihiro Mibe confirmed the automaker is still 'eager' to collaborate with Nissan and with its alliance partner Mitsubishi Motors where possible. But he ruled out the possibility of renewed efforts to merge with Nissan, at least 'for the time being."
Honda and Nissan have long been collaborating well before their merger talks became public last year. The have worked together on a wide range of projects including the production of mini vehicles and light commercial vehicles, and the development of battery electric vehicles (BEVs), hybrid powertrain systems, and autonomous driving technologies.
Nissan recently revealed it is currently considering supplying pickup trucks to Honda from its US plant in Canton, Mississippi, for Honda to sell in the US market. This would help both companies reduce the impact of the new US import tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump, as well as improve capacity utilisation at the Nissan plant.
Nissan has already agreed to produce a rebadged version of its Rogue SUV in the US for Mitsubishi Motors, with sales scheduled to start later this year, as well as its next generation Leaf battery electric vehicle (BEV) from the second half of 2026.
Honda and Nissan are discussing extending their US collaboration to other market segments in the US, as well as in other global regions. The two companies are also considering collaborating in the development of a new basic software platform for advanced vehicle controls, as they prepare to launch software-defined vehicles (SDVs) in the second half of the decade. Honda had previously indicated that it planned to launch battery electric vehicle (BEV) models equipped with its own SDV software from 2026.
The development and operation of SDVs requires huge amounts of data, so maximizing economies of scale by cost-sharing is seen as key to competing in this emerging segment of the market. Chinese automakers and Tesla are seen as leading the way in this emerging segment, while Toyota Motor is understood to be considering sharing its SDV software with Mazda.
Mibe summed up Honda's position as he told reporters at the shareholders' meeting: 'We want to secure a leading competitive edge in the industry by maximising the merits brought on by the collaboration."
"Honda eager to step up collaborate with Nissan, Mitsubishi" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand.
The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
3 Ways To Earn Money With Crypto — Aside From Actually Investing In It
Cryptocurrency has become a powerful global asset class that's worth nearly $4 trillion. And bitcoin is now worth over $100,000 per coin. But cryptocurrency is still a highly volatile investment. And if you don't want to invest in crypto but still want to use it to earn money, there are a few ways to make it happen. Read Next: Learn More: Here are three ways to earn money from cryptocurrency. Staking Staking is when you lock up your crypto for the security and operation of a proof-of-stake blockchain (like ethereum). Stakers are then rewarded for locking up their crypto. 'In return for helping the network run smoothly and securely, you receive more of the cryptocurrency you're staking,' per Coinbase. This is similar to a certificate of deposit (CD), funds are locked away for a set period of time and the holder earns interest. Check Out: Cloud Mining Cloud mining involves renting cloud-hosted crypto mining equipment and earning rewards for mining certain cryptocurrencies. Instead of purchasing the necessary hardware to mine crypto, you rent the equipment and software needed from a cloud mining provider online. Cloud mining can be risky, though, as many cloud mining companies can end up costing you more money than you earn in fees and poor rewards systems. It's important to work only with established and trusted cloud mining companies and understand how the fee structures work. In general, cloud mining can be profitable when the cryptocurrency you mine goes up in value. Liquidity Pools Joining a liquidity pool is similar to the process of staking, as you'll lock up your crypto to be used for trading liquidity on decentralized exchanges. According to Kraken, liquidity providers (LPs) receive LP tokens, which represent their assets in the pool, and they earn a 'proportional share of all transaction fees charged to traders that use the pool.' A key to earning more from liquidity pools is choosing tokens that have high trading volumes, resulting in more fees collected. And tokens that go up in value are (obviously) worth more as you earn them. Just be sure to watch out for platform fees that can reduce your earnings. More From GOBankingRates Mark Cuban Warns of 'Red Rural Recession' -- 4 States That Could Get Hit Hard How Much Money Is Needed To Be Considered Middle Class in Your State? Warren Buffett: 10 Things Poor People Waste Money On This article originally appeared on 3 Ways To Earn Money With Crypto — Aside From Actually Investing In It
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Cruise line stocks are on the rebound this year. Here's why.
Cruise line stocks have been on a tear in recent months, with no signs of a slowdown as industry efforts to woo vacationers to the sea show signs of paying off. Carnival (CCL) shares have rebounded more than 60% from their April lows when tariff turmoil rocked the markets. Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) also rose 50%, while Royal Caribbean (RCL) rallied more than 80% over the same period. Trump's trades deals have, to some extent, helped the industry gain clarity. Airlines like United (UAL) and Delta (DAL) reinstated financial guidance, crediting a clear picture of signals out of Washington. Similarly, cruise operators noted a sharp improvement in bookings over the last several months. The rebound in cruise line stocks, Friday's market sell-off aside, came after April's market turmoil and subsequent recovery on the heels of President Trump's broad-based tariff pause. On Thursday, Norwegian Cruise Line shares jumped 9% after the company posted record second quarter revenue and shared bookings now ahead of historical levels. 'It's never a single thing that drives the change that we saw from a choppy April to a record May through July," Harry Sommer, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, told analysts during the earnings call. "But I'd say the primary driver was the improvement in the macroeconomic environment." He added that July was on its way to a record month for the company. Earlier this week, Royal Caribbean posted record adjusted earnings on strong demand, though the cruise operator's top line came in below Wall Street expectations. Management credited an acceleration in "close-in demand," or bookings with little lead-time, allowing operators to keep prices higher for longer. Strong performances from Royal Caribbean and Norwegian follow Carnival's record second quarter revenue of $6.3 billion in June. The industry's outperformance has been in the making for a while now. In recent years, cruise operators have invested in newer, more advanced ships; thematic voyages; and exclusive destination-led experiences to attract new customers. Those efforts appear to be working as cruises, which often work out cheaper than land-based vacations, have grown in popularity. The number of cruise passengers rose from 29.7 million in 2019, before the 2020 pandemic, to an estimated 37.7 million projected for 2025. The trend reflects passengers beyond baby boomers taking cruises as interest from first-time travelers rises. Royal Caribbean management noted this week that millennials and younger travelers now represent about half of its customer base. "Cruise is a good value proposition. So if people are thinking about taking a vacation, cruise is one of the cheaper forms of travel," Andrew Didora, senior equity research analyst at Bank of America, told Yahoo Finance. "I think [cruise lines] may be gaining some share within the vacation market." JPMorgan researchers estimate the cruise industry will expand its slice of the $1.9 trillion global vacation market from roughly 2% to 3.8% by 2028. Ines is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Profits at Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway drop as it writes down its Kraft Heinz investment
Warren Buffett's company reported less than half as much profit in the second quarter as it took a $3.76 billion writedown on the value of its stake in Kraft Heinz, as that iconic food producer considers largely undoing the merger that Berkshire Hathaway helped bankroll. Berkshire said it earned $12.37 billion, or $8,601 per Class A share, during the quarter. That's down from $30.248 billion, or $21,122 per Class A share, a year ago, because it recorded a much smaller paper investment gain this year. Berkshire's earnings can swing wildly from quarter to quarter because it must record the current value of its massive investment portfolio, even though it doesn't sell most of the stocks. That's why Buffett has long recommended that investors pay more attention to Berkshire's operating earnings, which exclude those investment gains. Although last year Berkshire did surprised shareholders by selling off a huge chunk of its Apple stake, which inflated the investment gains then. By that measure, Berkshire's operating earnings were only down slightly at $11.16 billion, or $7,759.58 per Class A share. That compares with $11.598 billion, or $8,072.16 per Class A share, a year ago. Most of Berkshire's myriad assortment of companies — major insurers like Geico, BNSF railroad, a group of utilities and a collection of manufacturing and retail businesses — generally performed well despite the uncertainty about the economy and President Trump's tariffs. The four analysts surveyed by FactSet Research expected Berkshire to report earnings per Class A share of $7,508.10, so the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate's results were ahead of that. Berkshire owns more than 27% of Kraft Heinz' stock and, for years, it has had representatives on the company's board. Buffett has said previously that he believes the company's iconic brands will do well over time, but in hindsight, he overpaid for the investment and underestimated the challenges branded foods face from retailers and the growth of private label products. This spring, Berkshire's representatives resigned from the Kraft Heinz board shortly before the company announced it is exploring strategic options that may include spinning off a large part of its portfolio of brands. Over the years since Berkshire helped Kraft buy Heinz in 2015, the company has been hurt by changing consumer tastes and a shift toward healthier options than Kraft's core collection of processed foods. Buffett's is still sitting on a massive pile of $344.1 billion in cash, although the company's reserves dipped slightly from the $347.7 billion cash it was holding at the end of the first quarter. Buffett told shareholders in May he just isn't finding any attractive deals for companies he understands. Buffett surprised shareholders at the annual meeting when he announced that he plans to give up the CEO title at the end of the year and hand over operations to Vice Chairman Greg Abel, but Buffett will remain Chairman. Berkshire shareholders might be disappointed that the company didn't repurchase any of its shares this quarter, even though the price has fallen more than 12% since just before Buffett announced his retirement. Many investors are watching Berkshire's BNSF closely after rival Union Pacific announced a plan to buy Norfolk Southern earlier this week to create the nation's first transcontinental railroad. The speculation is that BNSF needs to pursue a merger with Eastern Rail CSX to be able to compete. But CFRA Research analyst Cathy Seifert said it isn't Buffett's style to jump into a deal just because the market thinks he should. Over the decades, he has built Berkshire by finding strong companies selling for less than they are worth. CSX is trading near its 52-week high at $35.01 amid all the deal speculation. "He wants to do it because he found an undervalued franchise -- not because the market says you need to do a deal," Seifert said. "I think one of the reasons why that cash hasn't been deployed is that valuations run through the Berkshire M-and-A model tend to be too rich. But if there's a logical case to be made they'll accept it." And BNSF appears to be doing fine right now on its own. The railroad recorded a 19% jump in its operating profit this quarter at $1.47 billion as it cut costs and delivered about 1% more shipments.
