Mitsubishi ponders exit from upcoming Nissan Honda merger as it rapidly becomes the odd man out.
Mitsubishi is strongly considering departing from its partnership with Nissan according to new report.
Nissan and Honda are making progress in their ongoing merger talks with both companies confident that they will be able to successfully merge together into one of the largest automotive companies in the world if everything falls into place. However, it has not been all smooth sailing with Honda reportedly asking Nissan to buy out shares of its long-time partner Renault.
However, it can be easy to forget that there is another company involved in all of this, Mitsubishi with that firm partnering up with Nissan after being rescued from its own problems by Nissan a few years ago. Mitsubishi always seemed like the odd man out in the merger talks and a new report suggests that Mitsubishi is strongly considering pulling out of the partnership before the merger fleshes out into reality.
Mitsubishi doesn’t want to be minority player anymore
The company’s potential move comes amid merger talks between Nissan and Honda with Mitsubishi potentially being the odd man out in the combined company.
According to the report that was published by Reuters, execs within Mitsubishi are concerned that the company will not be able to influence elements of the merger especially if it’s finalized with Mitsubishi’s small size preventing it from having as much control as the other two companies in the newly combined entity. Mitsubishi also wants to maintain the high level of independence it has in the current arrangement with Nissan allowing the company to maintain a high level of freedom in the existing partnership.
This high degree of independence has allowed the company to focus much of its efforts on the Southeast Asia market where the company is a much stronger presence than Nissan while also using some of the profits from this market to help revamp its vehicle lineup in other markets including the U.S. This focus would net bigger returns for the company as a whole versus continuing to be a minor player in the merger with potentially less leverage and independence.
More Nissan/ Honda Merger Stories
- Honda to Take Lead in Planned Merger with Nissan
- Honda Wants Nissan To Buyout Renault’s Shares As Merger Faces Its First Hurdle
- Nissan, Mitsubishi Finally Take Advantage Of Their Alliance
Mitsubishi’s abrupt exit fuels doubts
If Mitsubishi exits the partnership, the merger itself could come under even more scrutiny with doubt growing among many analysts.
If Mitsubishi does decide to take its figurative ball out of the partnership and go home, it will add new fuel to a brewing storm of doubts about the planned merger itself. Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe buckled to a recent round of questioning from the press about the merger and struggled to articulate the exact reason why Honda would even consider entering such an agreement with struggling Nissan.
This apparent caving by Honda’s CEO comes on top of multiple analysts casting their own doubts on the merger especially since many of the products the two companies sell overlap with each other and that both companies have also lagged behind when it comes to EVs with Nissan in particular losing ground on EVs after initially seemingly being on the cutting edge of the segment. The loss of Mitsubishi could be the figurative canary in the coal mine and it might signal that more trouble is on the way for the historic merger talks.
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