11:09 am, January 17, 2025
Ahead of the new deal, Honda has asked Nissan if it would buy out shares from its existing partner Renault.
Last year, the Japanese car makers agreed a deal to combine forces and save the struggling Nissan but Japanese publication Kyodo News has reported that Honda is urging it to now try and acquire the shares from the French firm.
There has long been complications from the power struggle within the Renault-Nissan Alliance and, according to Automotive News Europe, Honda wants to avoid ‘undesirable’ foreign influence.
Kyodo reports that people close to the matter have said Honda is concerned Renault’s large 35.7% stake could be ‘snapped up’ as negotiations continue.
It is estimated that Renault’s share is worth around 557bn yen (£2.9bn).
It is unknown if this is possible for Nissan, particularly as its reason for the deal with Honda is the company is financially struggling.
Nissan’s market value is currently around 1.56tr yen (£8.2bn), and its cash and cash equivalents are reported at 1.52tr yen.
Earlier in 2024, it revealed that turnover and profit had plummeted after a difficult year with sales much lower than expected. It then announced it would be cutting its global workforce by 9,000 people.
