Everyone loves a deal, and apparently, when it comes to Nissan, Honda wasn’t the only one kicking the tires — Toyota reportedly had some interest. According to reports, after the talks with Honda collapsed, a Toyota executive had discussions with Nissan officials.
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda said in January Nissan didn’t come to Toyota to talk about a merger. But that doesn’t mean they didn’t talk.
Officially, Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda told the media at the Consumer Electronics Show in January that no one from Nissan ever contacted Toyota to talk about a possible partnership. However, that isn’t the same as the two sides never spoke.
According to Mainichi Shimbun, a prominent Japanese newspaper, a Toyota executive reached out to Nissan to see if there was interest in forming some sort of pairing between the two automakers. Nissan’s declined comment while Toyota hasn’t offered comment.
Toyota being interested isn’t a complete surprise as it holds stakes in Subaru, Mazda, Suzuki and Isuzu. However, it never publicly expressed interest in Nissan as it became clear it was amenable to partnering up with another automaker.
Still willing?
Nissan announced plans to close seven plants around the world.
As Nissan’s newly appointed CEO Ivan Espinosa employs additional drastic measures to try to turn the struggling automaker around, the question is: Is Toyota still interested?
Nissan just announced it was cutting 10,000 jobs globally — after it cut more than 9,000 last November — by 2027. It also plans to shutter seven plants, including locations in Japan and Thailand. Finally, it backed out of building a $1.2 billion EV battery plant in Japan to help meet its EV production goals.
Espinosa has been clear that he’s willing to form a partnership with another automaker, and plans to continue working with existing partner, Mitsubishi. In fact, Mitsubishi revealed recently its new electric vehicle coming to the North American market will be based off the new Nissan Leaf EV coming for 2026.
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