Nissan and Honda agreed to a merger. Will their cars get cheaper in Canada?
Two of Japan’s largest automakers – Nissan and Honda – announced on Monday that they plan to work toward a merger, which would make the combined entity the third-largest vehicle manufacturer in the world.
The announcement comes at a time when the global automotive industry is undergoing a major shift from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. Experts say this proposed merger could change the landscape for consumers everywhere, including here in Canada.
The two companies said they had signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday and that smaller Nissan alliance member Mitsubishi Motors Corp. also had agreed to join the talks on integrating their businesses.
Dimitry Anastakis, a professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, said, “It shows you that there is a lot of consolidation that’s happening in the auto sector.”
Anastakis likened this to the creation of Stellantis in 2021, formed after the merger of Peugeot and Chrysler.
While Honda has had a diverse range of offerings, they have been lagging behind in the race to dominate the EV market.
“They do motorcycles, they do lawnmowers, they do ATVs, they do robots. They do all kinds of stuff, like a lot of Japanese companies. But they didn’t move that quickly into the EV sector,” Anastakis said.
Automakers in Japan have lagged behind their big rivals in electric vehicles and are trying to cut costs and make up for lost time as newcomers like China’s BYD and EV market leader Tesla grow.
Anastakis said, “The Chinese are further along in the segment. They’re able to offer less expensive cars.”
One exception among Japanese EV manufacturers is Nissan, which had some success in the sector with the Nissan Leaf.
“When they launched the
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