Officials from Honda and Nissan have yet to publicly confirm or deny the alleged merger talks that were reported last week. But their silence has done little to quell the chatter and speculation of what the automaker alliance would look like. One of those educated guesses is building new products at each other’s already-established manufacturing plants.
A source told Kyodo News that the automakers “have positioned improving production efficiency as an urgent issue.” One example is that in Europe, the Honda plants only build motorcycles and engines. A merger would allow Honda to utilize Nissan’s vehicle production facility located in Britain.
From a productivity standpoint, of course, this is smart business sense. You don’t need to build new manufacturing facilities just because you have a new name (HonSan? SanDa? Honda-Nissan & Mitsu? Last one sounds like a law firm). However, retooling and other related restructuring will still cost some money.
Nevertheless, in the U.S. alone, the two automakers have several assembly plants dedicated to auto manufacturing. Together, there could be a renewed emphasis on hybrid vehicles due to the strong demand in North America, which could be the short-term buoy Nissan needs for its lineup devoid of hybrids. Additionally, through the merger, a new holding company could be created that would focus on electric vehicles. Consumer sales may be slowing, but the OEM competition remains fierce.
Nissan’s three plants are located in the South: two in Tennessee and one in Mississippi. Honda currently has eight manufacturing facilities in the U.S., of which five assemble automobiles. Honda’s auto-making locations are largely in the Midwest. The three in Ohio build a mix of Acura and Honda vehicles, while lone plants in Indiana and Alabama focus on Honda products.
Honda’s other facilities build products for its powersports and power equipment portfolios. Anyone interested in a Nismo-tuned Honda ATV? Or, I don’t know, a snowblower? A Nismo sticker would add at least five horsepower to a Civic Type-R, for sure.
Obviously, we’re all just guessing and have been since 2019, when merger talks previously surfaced. Honda and Nissan have remained mum, though Kyodo News says an official response could come as early as tomorrow.
If Japan’s second and third-largest automakers were to marry, their combined production would make the newlyweds the world’s third-largest vehicle manufacturer by volume behind Volkswagen Group and Toyota. And that’s even if Mitsubishi is adopted into the new family. Ooh, if that means an HRC-Nismo-Ralliart riding (!) lawn mower is a possibility, I know what I’m getting dad next Christmas.
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