Renault to Meet Nissan Over Honda Merger

KatadataOTO – Renault executives will travel to Japan to meet with Nissan's top officials. The meeting is being held because the French company wants to maximize the value of the shares they own in Nissan.

This step was taken after a planned merger between Nissan and Honda, which could create the world's third-largest automotive company. Their global production capacity is estimated to reach 7.4 million vehicles per year.

It should be noted that Renault owns 36 percent of Nissan and has stated it is open to a merger.
Reported by Reuters, as a shareholder, Renault is urging Nissan to negotiate a higher premium.

This is because in the merger, Honda is rumored to be taking over the company.

Photo : Autoblog

Unfortunately, as of this writing, Renault has remained silent on the matter. Similarly, Nissan and Honda have declined to comment.

It was previously reported that Nissan and Honda agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding to merge.

They will later operate under a single holding company led by Honda. However, each company will maintain its own principles and brands.

The merger will allow them to share platforms and technology. Thus, vehicle development can be faster and more efficient.

However, Honda revealed that the agreement could still change in the future. It is even possible that it could be canceled along the way.

“Currently, there are several things that need to be studied. Frankly, the possibility of the plan being canceled is not zero,” said Toshihiro Mibe, President of Honda, as reported by APNews some time ago.

Recently, Honda even asked Nissan to buy back the shares owned by Renault. This is because the H-logo manufacturer is concerned about Renault's potential influence on the merger plan.

Although initially interested in the merger, Mitsubishi Motors has reportedly canceled its intention. They believe that joining the merger could make it difficult for them to influence management decisions at the holding company.

Photo : Nissan Global

This situation arises because their relatively small shareholding size would not allow them the freedom to develop the market as they wish.

The three-diamond logo manufacturer reportedly prefers to maintain its current structure and focus on expanding its market share in Southeast Asia.