Η Honda wants to exclude the Renault from the merger with Nissan and hopes that Nissan can buy out Renault's shares, which would cost billions of dollars.
In particular, the plot is complicated by the proposed merger between Honda and Nissan. Those familiar with the corporate automotive space will know that French automaker Renault currently owns 35.7% of Nissan. It seems that Honda doesn't like that. The Japanese carmaker reportedly prefers to merge with a fully controlled Nissan and has asked if the company can buy back those shares. That would require about $3.6 billion per at current exchange rates.
It does not appear to be a personal animosity between the car manufacturers. According to Bloomberg, Honda is concerned that Renault's stake could be bought by an unknown third party while merger plans are underway, potentially upending the process. There's certainly cause for concern - just before the merger talks were formalized, we heard rumors that Foxconn was interested in buying Renault's stake. With this merger potentially creating one of the largest car conglomerates in the world, we can understand why Honda wants to keep things streamlined.
The problems
By definition, this also suggests that Renault may not be in agreement with the Honda-Nissan deal. The official press release announcing the merger made no mention of the French brand, despite its significant ownership stake in Nissan. A brief statement followed by Renault simply said that the company "will consider all options in the best interests of the Group and its stakeholders".
Representatives for Nissan and Honda declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg.
It is worth noting that at this stage, Honda and Nissan are still determining whether a merger is still viable. That decision should be made by the end of January. If it is positive, more comprehensive steps will be taken to merge the companies in late 2026. In all likelihood, any potential action by Nissan to acquire Renault's stake will not happen before the end of January at the earliest. And there are still doubts that Nissan can even afford it.
If all goes well, a new holding company not dissimilar to Stellantis will be created. Honda and Nissan will still exist separately with separate lines, but the platforms and technology will be shared. Mitsubishi, the other automaker in the decades-long Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance, has expressed interest in joining the group but has not yet made a formal decision.
