Honda, Nissan, and Mitsubishi Motors Joint Press Conference

Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan are considering a global merger to tackle business challenges, but navigating this in India could be particularly difficult due to their independent large production setups and the presence of French Renault as an alliance partner with Nissan.

Additionally, Mitsubishi's negligible operations in India add complexity to the proposed merger. Mitsubishi was previously sold in India in partnership with the CK Birla group, but now collaborates with the French PSA group for Citroen cars.

The complexities of Nissan and Honda's businesses in India are significant. Nissan operates in India through a manufacturing joint venture with Renault, despite global differences between the two companies. Their alliance in India, with a joint installed capacity of 4 lakh units at their Oragadam factory outside Chennai, has struggled on the sales front.

Nissan and Renault have had limited success in India and failed to capitalize on positive leads. Nissan's export-oriented model has also proven challenging. The fate of the Chennai factory remains unclear if the Nissan-Honda global deal excludes Renault.

Honda, the larger player in the proposed global merger, is also facing difficulties in India. The company has lost market share and standing to competitors such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Toyota, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Tata Motors. Honda's manufacturing setup in Greater Noida has been shut for years due to poor demand, and it now manufactures cars only at its factory in Rajasthan.

At their global conference in Tokyo, Honda and Nissan announced plans to unify their operations under a joint holding company, aiming to complete the deal and list the holding company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by August 2026.