The stop at the operation reopens the decisive match for the fate of Yokohama’s house, in which the Taiwanese Foxconn could arrive or the American KKR fund
And now, what will happen? Now that the megaproget of merger between Honda and Nissan, who would have created one of the major world groups of the automotive (with 7.4 million cars produced per year), has faded for disagreements on the corporate structure and governance ( With Nissan who would have been relegated to a secondary role), what will happen to the two companies? The premise is that, in an explosive world situation for the sector, brought to its knees by the lack of returns of the huge investments on electric mobility and worried about the unpredictable moves on duties The American president Donald Trump, both Japanese manufacturers live a difficult time.
Complex situations
–
Already last November, the international press had revealed as Nissan, who is the main seat in Yokohama, was looking for an important investor, to be added to the Renault (which holds 36%) to be able to guarantee a future beyond a Temporal horizon which, at that moment, according to an internal source of the company did not exceed 12 or 14 months. And always in the autumn the CEO Nissan Makoto Uchida he had announced, in the face of a collapse of 85% of the operational profit In the last quarter of 2024, the need to cut 20% of the production capacity of their establishments, closing three in the period of two years and reducing the number of employees by 9,000 units. Also Hondahowever, does not enjoy excellent health. While boasting a market capitalization clearly higher than that of Nissan (38.8 billion euros against 7.6), thanks also to the other activities (starting from the production of motorcycles and scooters), does not sell many more vehicles than the non -partner ( In 2024, 3.8 million against 3.1) and recorded a 11% decrease in production Compared to the previous year, so much so that they have revised the profit forecast by 14.2%. In short, even if the merger is not done, both Japanese houses need to strengthen themselves, to guarantee a future in the stormy sea that the car industry is going through.
New partners were looking for
–
Although the technological collaboration with Honda is destined to continue, but limiting itself to the plane of electrified vehicles and artificial intelligence systems, to have more urgently in finding a partner with robust shoulders is still Nissan, which is in a position of greater weakness. Of which some other Asian company could take advantage, originally extraneous to the car sector, but increasingly intended, thanks to the advent of electric propulsion, to set foot. The interest in Nissan by Nissan is now known FoxconnTech Company Taiwanese known as the largest world manufacturer of electrical and electronic components and, above all, built on behalf of major brands of very popular objects such as Apple smartphones and Sony PlayStation. FoxConn, whose business in the electric vehicle sector is led by Jun Seki, a former Senior Executive of the Nissan of which he aspired to become CEO, was born in Taiwan in 1974 and is also known as Hon Hai Technology Group: his activities range in a Infinity of fields, from cloud computing to artificial intelligence, from big data to robotics, thanks to research and development centers that have allowed her to record over 54,000 patents and establishments scattered around the world, in countries such as China, India, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Czech Republic and the United States.
From smartphones to cars
–
But the interesting fact is that as early as 2021-2022, through Foxron Vehicle Technologies, controlled listed on the stock exchange responsible for the design and development of vehicles, the Foxconn proposes electric carcalled Model B, C and E and, to which the Model D. has recently been added. These are turnkey platforms, including software and solutions for production, some of which sold with the Luxorin brand, which belongs to A Taiwan group of the same name. For the style, Foxron made use of the collaboration with Pininfarina, who made with the Model C Una hatchback with cameras instead of the rear views and LED panels to communicate with other users; The Model is, on the other hand, a large sedan with classic lines, with a power of 750 HP and a declared autonomy of 750 km, while the Model D looks like a combination of a seven -seater minivan and an 800 volt electric architecture SUV and declared autonomy of 660 km. To these cars are also added the Model V pick-up and Model T and U. bus
New resources are needed
–
At Foxconn, therefore, there is no shortage of knowledge of electric vehicles, capable of bringing new lymph to Nissan, who has been among the precursors of batteries with batteries with his Leafbut which today lacks the financial resources necessary to maintain the passage of the disruptive technological developments alone. In recent days, however, its president Young Liu spoke of interest in a collaboration with Nissan, limiting the possible acquisition of actions to what is necessary for cooperation purposes. Will all this be enough to guarantee a future for Nissan? The merger with Honda involved the birth of a common holding, which would allow synergies to reduce the research and development costs of new electric models, to be sold by preserving distinct brands, to keep up with the new big names in the sector, such as the Tesla and the Chinese Byd. The Nissan plan, presented last spring, included in all twenty by March 2027, six of which are battery and are dedicated to Europe. But to deal with all this, important resources are needed which, if not from Foxconn, could come from some important investment fund, such as the American Kkr, according to some sources potentially interested in the operation. There is, however, much more time to lose, to avoid a shoulder strap that would be disastrous for the whole world of the car.
© RESERVED REPRODUCTION