"Sources: Honda, Nissan seen inking merger soon
6 hours ago
Sources say Honda Motor and Nissan Motor are expected to sign a basic merger agreement soon. Japan's second- and third-largest automakers are considering forming a holding company to improve competitiveness by sharing technologies and costs.
The two companies agreed in August to develop common software platforms and standardize parts in electric vehicles including sharing model specifications and parts supply.
Discussions about a strategic partnership in areas such as electrification were announced earlier in March.
The automakers face intensifying competition from foreign rivals. Tesla of the US and China's BYD are taking the lead in EVs, autonomous driving and software development.
Nissan's net profit plunged almost 94 percent in the six months through September from a year earlier, partly due to sluggish sales in the US.
The automaker said last month that it will reduce global production capacity by 20 percent and cut 9,000 jobs by March 2027. It also announced management changes last week, including naming a new chief financial officer.
Nissan is the top shareholder in Mitsubishi Motors."
The merger talks with Honda may include discussions about whether Mitsubishi would be included in the possible holding company."
Sources say Honda Motor and Nissan Motor are expected to sign a basic merger agreement soon. Japan's second- and third-largest automakers are considering forming a holding company to improve competitiveness by sharing technologies and costs.
www3.nhk.or.jp
It's all one big circle.
Nissan’s Top Shareholder Renault Said Open to Honda Talks
Renault gives its consent because Nissan is part of the Renault-Nissan alliance. Renault in turn has a 20% stake in Verkor. Whatever.
I recently heard in a general special about state funding of raw material supply that Japan is extremely active in promoting its own raw material supply, much more so than other countries like here for example. Of course, all this is just theory, and Nissan and Honda would prefer to be independent of China and graphite through solid-state batteries. But here is something I didn't know:
"At a Glance
Both Japan and the European Union face critical import dependencies in the raw
materials sector. Especially in the field of rare earth elements (REE), the EU is largely
exposed, while Japan has managed to reduce its vulnerability, although it remains
at a critical level. With their combined market size and different politico-economic
approaches, the EU and Japan could complement one other in their efforts to reduce
this exposure.
Therefore, this paper proposes large-scale cooperation between Japan and the EU to
reduce the risk of REE supply. The prerequisite for this cooperation is that the EU
establishes a Critical Raw Materials Agency, which could act as a counterpart to the
Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC). Unlike JOGMEC, the
European agency should not be involved in the operational extraction of raw materi-
als, but should focus on the EU’s strengths, which are of a financial nature.
The EU-Japan Critical Raw Materials Alliance should include:
› EU-Japan public-private funds: The EU and Japan should pool their financial
firepower to support targeted diversification projects with purchase guaran-
tees, contracts for difference, and concessionary loans.
› Joint procurement and stockpiling: Japan and the EU could benefit from
cooperation in procurement and stockpiling, thus further stabilising the supply
of critical minerals and mutually supporting one other in the event of an
emergency. For the EU’s multi-level system, this would require the transfer of
necessary competencies to a prospective European Raw Materials Agency.
› Joint environmental and technological initiatives: To provide transparency
on meeting ESG criteria, the Japanese and European governments should work
together to include local stakeholders in the process and to provide an open
framework of communication. In addition, joint innovation programmes should
be launched to accelerate the development of recycling, separation, and
refinement technology for REE.
› Critical Raw Materials Club: If the above-mentioned measures do not suffice
in the event of intensified global trade conflicts, a Critical Raw Materials Club
should be founded by Japan and the EU and ideally joined by as many mem-
bers as possible of the OECD, ASEAN, etc. Trade barriers would be created
vis-à-vis third countries to ensure a level playing field of REE, providing incen-
tives for REE suppliers to extract and process rare earths within the club.
...
4.) Support for Strengthening Supply Chains of Important Minerals Based on the
Economic Security Promotion Act
In January 2023, JOGMEC announced the Policy for Ensuring a Stable Supply of
Critical Minerals and began supporting private companies with diversifying and
strengthening the supply chain of critical minerals and ensuring a stable
supply.
For the time being, support will be limited to manganese, nickel, cobalt,
lithium,
and graphite, which are raw materials for batteries, and rare earth
metals, and are used for permanent magnets.
..."
