Nissan won’t merge activities
Mitsubishi still strong in region amid scandal
Southeast Asian operations for Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors will remain separate after Nissan acquired a stake in Mitsubishi, which remains mired in a mileage-cheating scandal.
Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn yesterday told 40 Asia-Pacific journalists on a conference call that operations for the two firms will not be joined, although more technology sharing is expected.
“Mitsubishi remains stronger than Nissan in Asean,” he said. “The deal will be a win-win business strategy between the two car makers, and it will reduce investment costs for vehicle technology in the long run.”
Nissan agreed to buy a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors for 237.4 billion yen (77.2 billion baht), the companies said on Thursday.
The capital infusion could prove a crucial lifeline to Mitsubishi Motors, whose market value fell more than 40% after the company revealed it had overstated the fuel economy of its mini-cars and had been improperly testing its Japanese models for years.
The scandal — reported to cover almost every model sold in Japan since 1991 — also included mini-cars produced by Mitsubishi for Nissan as part of a joint venture.
It was Nissan that first uncovered problems with the fuel economy data, but Mitsubishi said Nissan had played no part in the scandal.
Mitsubishi was pulled from the brink of bankruptcy a decade ago after it was discovered that it had covered up vehicle defects that caused fatal accidents.
At the time, the Mitsubishi group of companies stepped in with a series of bailouts to save the firm.
In Asean, both Nissan and Mitsubishi have major manufacturing facilities in Thailand and Indonesia.
Nissan produces 370,000 vehicles per year in Thailand and 250,000 vehicles per year in Indonesia, where sister brand Datsun is made and sold.
Mitsubishi makes 510,000 vehicles per year at its Thai operation. It is constructing a plant in Indonesia projected to produce 160,000 vehicle per year. The plant is scheduled to go live in April 2017.
The companies have now developed a complete operation in Thailand which covers not only manufacturing, but also a research and development (R&D) unit and testing centre.
In Thailand, the Mitsubishi brand is No.4 on the domestic car market, with sales of 59,820 units last year. Nissan was ranked No.5 with 51,193 units sold in the country during that period.
Both firms also said they would participate in the second phase of Thailand’s eco-car scheme.
Nissan plans to spend 6.86 billion baht to make 123,000 eco-cars and 2 million auto parts a year at its factory on Bang NaTrat Road, which is run by its local unit. Mitsubishi plans to invest 4.9 billion baht to make 233,000 eco-cars a year.
According to Mr Ghosn, the group (Renault-Nissan Alliance, including Mitsubishi) expects to sell 10 million cars worldwide this year.
In 2015, the Renault-Nissan Alliance was ranked No.4, with 8.5 million units sold, trailing Toyota (10.15 million), Volkswagen (9.9 million) and General Motors (9.8 million).