Nissan's Plunge in Profits and Dismissal of Honda Merger Talks

Nissan's financial performance took a significant hit in the nine months ending December, with profit plunging to 5.1 billion yen, a stark contrast to the 325 billion yen earned in the previous year. Sales during this period only fell modestly to 9.14 trillion yen, but the company projected a full fiscal year loss of 80 billion yen, highlighting the severity of the downturn.

In addition to the disappointing financial results, Nissan decided to cancel its integration discussions with Honda—a process that initially sought to explore deep business ties. The original talks aimed at either forming a joint holding company or eventually transforming Nissan into a subsidiary of Honda. However, Nissan's CEO Makoto Uchida dismissed the prospect of a subsidiary arrangement as unacceptable, despite affirming that collaborative efforts in areas like electric vehicles and research would continue.

Looking ahead, Nissan plans to implement a turnaround strategy independent of Honda, while remaining receptive to exploring various strategic options. The automaker also indicated that it would soon outline a detailed plan for its recovery, which will include significant operational cuts such as the closing of production lines or possibly entire plants, coupled with a reduction of up to 9,000 jobs.