Former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn calls Nissan-Honda merger plan a ‘desperate move’

• Nissan and Honda are reportedly considering a merger.

• But former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said the move suggests Nissan is in “panic mode”.

• “There is virtually no complementarity between the two companies,” Ghosn told Bloomberg on Friday.

The potential merger between Japanese car manufacturers Nissan and Honda is a “desperate move,” said Carlos GhosnNissan’s former CEO.

Tuesday, Japanese newspaper Nikkei said the two companies are entering merger talks.

Pooling their resources would allow Nissan and Honda to better compete against EV rivals such as Tesla and China’s electric car manufacturersreported the outlet.

Honda and Nissan are the second largest and third largest car manufacturers in Japan respectively. Their local rival, Toyota, is the world’s largest car manufacturer.

A Nissan-Honda merger would result in the world’s third largest car company by volume.

Last week, Nissan and Honda told Business Insider that they are “considering various options for future collaboration,” but added that “no decisions have been made.”

Ghosn said in an interview with Bloomberg on Friday, pursuing a merger with Honda suggests that Nissan is in “panic mode.”

“It’s not a pragmatic deal because, frankly, the synergies between the two companies are hard to find,” Ghosn said.

“There is virtually no complementarity between the two companies. They are in the same markets. They have the same products. The brands are very similar,” he added.

Ghosn, Nissan and Honda did not respond to requests for comment from BI.

Once considered a legend in the auto industry, Ghosn experienced a dramatic fall from grace in 2018.

The former CEO and chairman of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance was arrested in Japan and charged with economic crime in November 2018.

Ghosn was held in a Japanese prison for over 100 days, before he fled the country smuggles himself into Lebanon in a case for a musical instrument in December 2019.

The disgraced auto boss has maintained his innocence. Last year, Ghosn filed a billion-dollar lawsuit against Nissan in Lebanon for damaging his finances and reputation.

On Friday, Ghosn told Bloomberg that the Japanese government — specifically Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry — was likely behind the merger talks between Nissan and Honda.

“So at the end of the day, they’re trying to figure out something that can reconcile Nissan’s short-term problems and Honda’s long-term vision,” Ghosn said.

The story continues