Nissan Weighs U.S. Vehicle and Powertrain Project With Honda

Overview

• Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa told Nikkei the company is considering a joint U.S. project with Honda to develop vehicles and powertrains.
• Both automakers say there are no talks on a merger or capital alliance, and Nissan says it has no updates beyond ongoing exploration of electrification and vehicle-intelligence collaboration.
• Nikkei also reported, citing unnamed sources, that Nissan has weighed building pickup trucks for Honda at underused U.S. plants.
• The United States is the largest market for both companies, and Nissan faces a hybrid lineup gap where Honda is strong.
• Recent results highlight the pressures, with Nissan reporting roughly 7% North America sales growth last quarter as Honda cut its profit outlook and reduced its North America sales forecast by about 110,000 vehicles due to a chip shortage tied to Nexperia.