The news outlet Japan Today reports that Mitsubishi Motors Corp will not be joining the planned merger formed between Nissan Motor Co and Honda Motor Co.
Instead, the company will focus on strengthening its cooperation with the two firms, according to a source close to the matter last Friday.
This latest development reflects Mitsubishi’s concerns about the risks of losing management control if they were to join the Honda-Nissan alliance.
In a statement released last Friday, Mitsubishi mentioned that it is considering various possibilities and has not yet decided on a specific direction.
Honda and Nissan, the second and third largest automotive manufacturers in Japan, announced a merger plan last year to form a new company that will create the world’s third-largest automotive group, in order to compete against the electric vehicle manufacturers from the United States and China.
At that time, Mitsubishi Motors was not ready and stated that a decision about joining the new alliance would be made by the end of January 2025.
Throughout 2023, the combined sales of Honda, Nissan, and Mitsubishi reached eight million units, which still fell short of Toyota’s sales figures (11.23 million units) and Volkswagen AG’s (9.24 million units).
Honda and Nissan aim to finalize all merger discussions by June 2025.