Nissan may call off merger talks with Honda

Japan's Nissan may call off its merger talks with Honda, and Nissan's board is due to meet shortly to decide a course of action, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Honda, Japan's second-largest car maker, and Nissan, its third-largest, last year said they were in discussions to merge and create the world's third-largest automaker by sales, bulking up in an industry that faces a vast threat from China's BYD and other electric vehicle entrants.

But the talks have been complicated by growing differences on both sides, according to two people familiar with the matter, both of whom declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Nissan's board is due to soon meet to discuss calling off the talks after Honda sounded it out about becoming a subsidiary, one of the people said, adding that such an arrangement was a departure from the spirit of discussions originally framed as a merger of equals.

The development raises fresh questions about how hard-hit Nissan could ride out its latest crisis without external help.

Nissan is in the middle of a turnaround plan, aiming to cut 9,000 employees and 20% of global capacity.

Honda, with a market value nearly five times bigger than Nissan, is increasingly worried about its smaller rival's progress on the turnaround plan, said the other person. Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper earlier reported that the merger could be called off.

Shares of both carmakers rose on Wednesday, with Honda up more than 2% and Nissan up 1.6% against a slight decline in Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index. Spokespeople for both companies on Wednesday did not comment on whether merger talks were off but said they would announce mid-February, as previously flagged.

"The news saying that Nissan did not want to be a Honda subsidiary appears to highlight that control was a contentious issue," said Christopher Richter, senior Japan autos analyst at brokerage CLSA.

"Without being able to have control, Honda appears to be walking away."

DISRUPTION Nissan has been hit harder than some other carmakers by the shift to EVs, having never fully recovered after years of crisis sparked by the arrest and ouster of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn in 2018.

The tie-up talks have coincided with the disruption posed by potential tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Tariffs against Mexico would be more painful for Nissan than for Honda or Toyota, according to analysts.

Nissan's long-term alliance partner Renault had said it would be open in principle to the merger with Honda.

The French automaker owns 36% of Nissan, including 18.7% through a French trust.

Nissan and Honda had initially said they planned to decide the direction of the integration by the end of January, but that was later pushed back to mid-February. Sources told Reuters last month that Nissan's smaller alliance partner Mitsubishi Motors, which had considered joining the merger, might not do so.