With an memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed on Tuesday, two Japanese carmakers, Nissan and Honda began talks and considerations of a merger.

If realised, the shares of the joint company would be listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) by August 2026, making the joint entity the third-largest carmaker in the world.

But what would this merger mean for both carmakers in India, which is currently dominated by Korean and Indian manufacturers, along with Suzuki and Toyota, the other Japanese firms.

Read here: Nissan, Honda sign MoU to initialise merger discussions

Japan-France-Japan

In India, Nissan is already involved in synergies with Renault since 2015.

According to a statement by Nissan India, the agreement was secured with French government’s voting rights to 17.9%, no enfranchisement of Nissan shares in Renault, and Nissan having the rights to increase its holdings in Renault in the event of interference in Nissan’s governance or business by Renault.

If the Nissan-Honda merger is realised, it needs to be seen how existing relations between carmakers in India are impacted by the merger in Japan.

Moreover, Mitsubishi, already in alliance with Nissan and a carmaker that is likely to rely on the latter for its future motors, has zero to minimal presence in India. When the Japanese carmaker entered India in the past, it had a collaboration with an Indian firm – C K Birla Group, as per reports, just like that of Maruti and Suzuki.

The same partner of Mitsubishi is today involved with Citroen, another French carmaker.

Partnerships, parts, and platform sharing between carmakers is not new in India, as Suzuki and Toyota also have a cross-badge agreement with India where each firm sells the same cars with different badges.

Nissan and Honda in India

In India, Nissan has two offerings as of December 24 – Magnite and X-Trail. Honda, on the other hand, offers varients of Amaze, Elevate, and City.

Nissan Motors India recently voiced, “Nissan remains committed to its India operations, dealers, partners, and customers. We remain on track for our plan announced earlier this year at the launches of the Nissan X-TRAIL and New Nissan Magnite.”

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