A merger between Nissan and Honda could solve a big challenge for Nissan: the lack of hybrids.
This is according to dealers who spoke to Business Insider last week, amid reports that Japanese automakers are in talks to create a new global automotive giant. This week, automakers showed those comments, saying they were indeed in formal merger talks. Mitsubishi Motors is also involved in the negotiations, the companies said in a statement Monday.
Nissan is one of few car manufacturers in the US without a hybrid or plug-in-hybrid offering, despite taking an early lead in electric-vehicle sales with the Leaf in 2010.
This year, car buyers have turned away from electric cars in favor of hybrid models, leaving Nissan with unpopular and unprofitable battery-powered offerings in the Leaf and Ariya SUVs.
Nissan dealers have faced declining sales all year, especially for the brand’s best-selling Rogue. Once the segment leader, the Rogue saw sales drop 10% in the first nine months of the year at the same time last year, according to corporate data.
And dealers say they’re losing customers to Honda and Toyota, which have hybrid versions of their CR-V and RAV4 SUVs, respectively.
A brokerage firm with Nissan and Honda retail outlets says it’s “painfully obvious” that Nissan is wasting consumers in favor of brands that offer more hybrids. It was not necessary to identify the broker, but BI showed his identity.
It’s common, he says, for a Nissan customer to migrate to the Honda shop after learning there are no hybrids.
After disappointing first-quarter sales results, Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida highlighted the blind spot of hybrids, saying at an earnings press conference that until last year, Nissan did not expect an immediate increase in sales. demand for hybrids. is shifting its focus toward hybrid offerings, but dealers and auto industry experts say the upgrade could take years.
Meanwhile, Honda is riding the hybrid wave this year as consumers of hybrid versions of the CR-V SUV and Civic sedan. This month, Honda announced plans to double its global hybrid sales to 1. 3 million cars by 2030, aiming to create a “bridge” to electric vehicle adoption.
Some dealers are wary of a new global car merger.
Adam Lee, a Maine broker for several major brands including Nissan, Honda and Chrysler, said he’s cynical about the promised “synergies” after experiencing several mergers as a Chrysler broker.
“Show me a merger where the synergies actually existed, and I’ll show you something that doesn’t exist,” Lee said. “I’m trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I tend to be cynical about anything like this.”
Chrysler owner Stellantis is currently in the midst of a complicated transition, as the CEO who led the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA resigned earlier this month. Before that, Chrysler had a confusing marriage with Germany’s Daimler in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Lee said Nissan could probably use some help with hybrids and other plug-in models but added: “You don’t necessarily need to merge to do that.”
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