It’s official: Honda and Nissan are now in talks of a possible merger. Given that Nissan is also Mitsubishi’s biggest shareholder, the brand will participate in the discussion too. If all three Japanese carmakers do reach a deal, they would form the world’s third-largest automaker in terms of sales volume; right behind Toyota and Volkswagen.

As outlined by Nissan in a press release, shares of the joint holding company – if it materialises, of course – are planned to be scheduled for August 2026. As for talks between Honda and Nissan on the possible merger, those will be held over the next six months.

“Today marks a pivotal moment as we begin discussions on business integration that has the potential to shape our future. If realised, I believe that by uniting the strengths of both companies, we can deliver unparalleled value to customers worldwide who appreciate our respective brands,” said Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida.

Of course, Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe also chimed in on the possible merger. “Creation of new mobility value by bringing together the resources including knowledge, talents, and technologies that Honda and Nissan have been developing over the long years is essential to overcome challenging environmental shifts that the auto industry is facing. Honda and Nissan are two companies with distinctive strengths.”

“We are still at the stage of starting our review, and we have not decided on a business integration yet, but in order to find a direction for the possibility of business integration by the end of January 2025, we strive to be the one and only leading company that creates new mobility value through chemical reaction that can only be driven through synthesis of the two teams,” he added.