Honda-Nissan merger push...3rd place in the world, beating Hyundai Motor.

[Anchor]
Japanese carmakers Honda and Nissan have entered merger negotiations.

It aims to establish a holding company in 2026, and if successful, it will become the third largest in the world beyond Hyundai Motor Group.

Reporter Shin Woong-jin's report.

[Reporter]
Honda, the second-largest Japanese carmaker, and Nissan, the third-largest, have announced their bid to merge.

[Uchida Makoto / Nissan Chief Executive Officer: We have made a significant decision to go a step further into the future by starting discussions for management integration beyond the framework of our previous collaboration.]

Honda and Nissan will complete negotiations by June next year and push for management integration under the holding company to be newly established in August 2026.

It will become a subsidiary of the holding company and abolish each of them, but the brands of both companies will be left behind.

The two companies expect synergies in a wide range of areas, including sharing vehicle platforms, integrating R&D functions, streamlining production bases, and strengthening supply chain competitiveness.

While the trend is shifting from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles, the merger is attributed to being pushed back by foreign companies such as Tesla in the United States and BYD in China.

[Toshihiro Mibe / Honda CEO: China and emerging forces are emerging, and the structure of the automobile industry is changing. This means that value itself will change in terms of cars and mobility.

Honda and Nissan's combined global production will push Hyundai Motor Group, which has 7.35 million units, below leaders Toyota (11.23 million units) and Germany's Volkswagen (9.23 million units), but to third place in the world.

Mitsubishi Motors is also considering joining Honda and Nissan holding companies, and it will be decided next January.

I'm YTN's Shin Woongjin.