[AcerbicZero]

I haven't been following this closely, but what was the appeal for Honda? I mean, Nissan has a few cars that are moving in OK numbers these days but I don't see many routes for a return to form over the long run; Commodity cars are a dying breed.

[somerandomqaguy]

Rumour mill is that the Japanese government was pressuring Honda to merge with Nissan to save Nissan. During a press conference the CEO of Honda Toshihiro Mibe couldn't articulate a reason justifying the merger.

https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/honda-s-ceo-struggles-t...

[AcerbicZero]

Ahhh TY; that makes sense.

[Dalewyn]

Pretty much this. Honda was all but begged by the Japanese government to bail Nissan out. Remember that the Japanese government had a role in taking out Renault and preventing a French takeover of Nissan, their political hand was already overstretched.

The merger/buyout collapsed because Nissan is too proud to admit that they have failed and aren't in any position to be making demands.

Also, this is a tangent but with the US Steel buyout/investment from Nippon Steel being a common subject matter these days, remember what Japan did to protect Nissan every time they bitch about the US protecting US Steel. What goes around comes around.

[teruakohatu]

> Pretty much this. Honda was all but begged by the Japanese government to bail Nissan out. Remember that the Japanese government had a role in taking out Renault and preventing a French takeover of Nissan, their political hand was already overstretched.

I know little/nothing about Japanese politics. How exactly does the Government of Japan apply pressure to a public company to merge with another failing public company?

[jesterson]

> How exactly does the Government of Japan apply pressure to a public company to merge with another failing public company?

Structure doesn't matter. Culturally government cooperates with companies through "asking" (or pressuring if you like) as opposed to western approach where companies can (and will) do as they please within law/regulatory frameworks. Opposite works as well - companies can ask government and pretty much expect result.

Most of it stems from collective culture and family values and taken as something quite important.

[jac_no_k]

I would imagine by implying that if Honda doesn't cooperate, they would face increased regulatory scrutiny. IE, Honda factories needs to have more safety inspections, vehicles fails to pass emissions tests, a finding that requires huge recalls, etc.

[namdnay]

The last time the boss of Nissan didn’t do what they wanted, they put him in prison

[mminer237]

Ghosn? He was charged for stealing millions of dollars from Nissan, but he fled the country before ever going to prison.

[namdnay]

He was, but his corruption was clearly not the reason for his arrest. They were fine with him living like king until he went against the Nissan faction

[WeylandYutani]

US Steel is in such a bad shape that Trump has to put a tariff to save them. At least foreign cars can still be sold in Japan.

[dghlsakjg]

> Commodity cars are a dying breed.

Not in Asia, the worlds biggest car market, and where the worlds biggest car making country is. More than anything, low end electric cars are MASSIVELY popular in China.

[1-more]

You read about the sub like $20K EVs in China and you think "maybe we're due to get belt and roaded here."

[vuurmot]

I think they are like $15k rather than sub $20k

Though I wonder if EVs are really all that good without the infrastructure.. With state of the potholes and electric infrastructure in most countries, can EVs hold up?

[stefanfisk]

Why would potholes matter?

[Mistletoe]

I still wouldn't want a Nissan commodity car. My family has owned a few and even Infinitis and it didn't turn out well compared to all the Toyotas that are still in the family. The G35 was a great car, but those days are gone.

[poglet]

Was surprised how popular there are, also self driving taxis in Wuhan and other places.

[bobthepanda]

there's a lot of incentives pushing people into EVs. For example, to limit pollution and congestion it often takes winning a lottery to get a car registration for ICE, but that's generally much laxer if not completely gone for EVs.

In Shanghai at one point the cost of a ICE vehicle registration cost more than a low end EV.

[seanmcdirmid]

Beijing has a lottery for plates instead, except the allocation for EVs is separate from ICEs, so it is much easily to get an EV. Back in 2016, you started seeing Model S’s driving around Beijing, and those were definitely imported with something like a 20-30% tax (at least), but the only alternative was no luxury car (like the famous black Audi that used to be super common), so they just started showing up.

[a2tech]

Nissan has a following in the work vehicle category and is well established especially outside the us. They’re not nothing.

[tonymet]

nissan has inventory, factories, dealers , sales channels, financing , inventory, partner relationships.

Companies are so much more than the consumer experience.