Japanese automakers Nissan and Honda stopped negotiations on a merger on Thursday but committed to continue collaborating.
The companies sold a combined 7.1 million vehicles globally in 2024, a slight decrease from their combined sales of 7.6 million the year before. Together, Nissan and Honda would have been the third largest automaker in the world behind Volkswagen and Toyota.
In a statement, Honda said it was “striving to create new value and maximize the corporate value of each company” in its negotiations. However, according to Nissan, Honda was negotiating an entirely new structure than what both companies had agreed upon when they signed a memorandum of understanding beginning merger discussions.
“Honda proposed changing the structure from establishing a joint holding company, where Honda would appoint the majority of directors and the chief executive officer…
