On March 18, 2025, it was reported in several media outlets that Honda intends to procure batteries for HEVs from Toyota in the US. Procurement of parts between Japanese OEMs is expected to have a significant impact.
The deal is said to be aimed at strengthening local parts procurement as part of the second Trump administration’s tariff measures. In addition to tariff measures, cost reduction effects are also expected through the creation of economies of scale for batteries by increasing supply volume.

On February 13, it was officially announced that Honda and Nissan would withdraw from discussions regarding a business merger, which had been underway since the end of the previous year. In summary, this was due to a difference of opinion between Honda, which aims for agile management in response to changes in the market environment, and Nissan, which seeks to ensure its corporate identity.
However, Honda and Nissan have a common understanding that it will be difficult for Honda and Nissan to survive as a stand-alone company, as both companies mentioned that they will continue to pursue synergies related to electrification, SDV, and other intelligent technologies, which they announced in August of the previous year.

The business environment has been changing rapidly in recent years, including the impact of tariff policies by the Trump administration, the slowdown of the global BEV market, changing consumer preferences, and the economic downturn. As more flexible business strategies are required to cope with these circumstances, the structure of the supply chain is also likely to undergo significant changes.
Commonization of parts” has been identified as a candidate for synergy creation. In the case of eAxle, a core component of BEVs, Honda is collaborating with Astemo and Nissan is collaborating with JATCO (but the motor and inverter are made by Astemo) as of early 2025, and investments for business development are already underway. Investment for business development is already underway.
In the area of SDV, Honda announced its proprietary in-vehicle OS, ASIMO OS, at CES2025, and announced that it will collaborate with Renesas to develop a high-performance SoC for AI.

If the collaboration between Nissan and Hon Hai were to materialize, the situation could become even more complicated. In any case, Nissan needs to restructure its management as soon as possible. In its third quarter financial results, Nissan has announced concrete plans for restructuring and plant closures, but they seem to be lacking in decisive action.
I hope that Nissan will quickly rebuild itself and strengthen its competitiveness on its own without relying on foreign support, and then revive the Japanese automobile industry by reestablishing a strong business foundation for both Honda and Nissan through a business merger or a deeper strategic alliance.