Honda and Nissan are moving towards a closer tie-up with talks of setting up a holding company, a source said on Wednesday (December 18), in the clearest sign yet of reorganisation in Japan’s auto industry in response to immense challenges posed by Tesla and Chinese rivals, Reuters reports.
The discussions, first reported by the Nikkei newspaper on Tuesday (December 17), would allow the manufacturers to cooperate more closely on technology and help Japan’s No. 2 and No. 3 automakers to create a more formidable domestic rival to Toyota.
The talks between Honda and Nissan are aimed at setting up a holding company, said the source, who declined to be identified because the information had not been made public. It was not immediately clear whether a new holding company was aimed at eventually establishing a full union between the two companies, although Nikkei said they were beginning merger talks.
Shares of Nissan surged more than 21% in Tokyo trade on Wednesday, while shares of Honda were down 1.6%.
