Former Nissan CEO and now fugitive Carlos Ghosn has once again criticized his former car company, this time following reports it would merge with Japanese brand Honda.
last week, Nikkei Asia Honda and Nissan will reportedly soon begin talks that would see Japan’s second- and third-largest automakers join forces to stay afloat.
Both brands face sales losses in key markets as cheaper rivals launch electric vehicles.
While the automakers have not officially announced the merger, Mr. Ghosn, who led Nissan from 2005 until his significant firing in 2019 amid accusations of underreporting revenue, told reporters. Bloomberg He considered it an “act of desperation.”
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“This is a desperate move. It’s not a pragmatic deal because, frankly, it’s hard to find synergies between the two companies,” Ghosn said.
“There’s really no complementarity between the two companies. They’re in the same market. They’re the same product. The brands are very, very similar.”
Ghosn went on to claim that Honda was not keen on the prospect of a merger and was actually persuaded to do so by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in order to keep itself viable.
“Looking at it from one side, it’s a desperate move by Nissan trying to find a future. And looking at it from the other side, Honda, I know they’re not very excited about this move.
“You have to consider Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which has a big say in this.
“At the end of the day, they’re trying to figure out some way to integrate Nissan’s short-term problems with Honda’s long-term vision.”
According to last week’s Nikkei Asia Honda and Nissan will reportedly bring in Mitsubishi in a merger that will create one of the world’s largest automotive groups, the report said.
In March, Honda and Nissan confirmed they were studying a potential partnership “in the area of vehicle electrification and intelligence” that could result in sharing electric motors, battery technology, software platforms and other core electric vehicle components.
Since then, Nissan has been making headlines for the wrong reasons, a report says financial times Last month, a senior official close to the automaker said “we have 12 or 14 months to survive.”
A source close to Renault, which has been allied with Nissan since 1999, reportedly told the publication that Renault is willing to sell some of its shares to Honda.
Renault wants to further reduce its stake in Nissan – which last year fell from 43.4% to below 36% – leaving the Japanese brand to find long-term, stable shareholders such as banks or insurance groups to provide financial support. Stablize.
The Renault-Nissan alliance, which later became the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, was orchestrated by Mr. Ghosn after he became chief executive of the French automaker in 1999.
While he was known as a “cost killer” for his ruthless efforts to cut unnecessary spending, he was fired by Nissan and Renault for stealing company funds.
After being arrested in Japan in 2018, the executive was jailed and placed under house arrest before fleeing the country in a large instrument case on a private jet to his native Lebanon, which has no extradition treaty with Japan.
A French magistrate issued five international arrest warrants for Mr Ghosn in 2022, and last year the “cost killer” sued Nissan for US$1 billion (A$1.45 billion), claiming lost revenue, costs and punitive damages.
In November 2023, a Lebanese judge ruled that Ghosn should be evicted from his home in Beirut after the owner of the property launched legal proceedings against Ghosn in 2019 for trespassing.
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