Barely a year ago, Honda ke CEO Toshihiro Mibe ne Nissan ki already struggle kar rahi management ko kaafi gyaan diya tha, bola tha ki "jaldi or strong decisions lene padte hai, whether woh thode painful hi kyun na ho."
Mibe ko Nissan ki apne aap ko revive karne ki ability pe doubt tha, isliye usne full takeover ke liye ek all-or nothing move bid kiya. That's the reason both companies jo equal merger plan kar rahi thi, woh bhi derail ho gaya.
Ab jab Honda khud apne hi money pit mein gir rahi hai, so Nissan hi last laugh kar raha hai.
Last year, Nissan Motor Corp. Kaafi loss mein chal rahi thi, sales down thi or capacity zyada ho gayi thi. Tab Honda Co. Kaafi strong position mein thi, unka upper hand tha.
Ab scene reverse ho gaya hai, Nissan apni problems se bahar aa rahi hai, or Honda ab kaafi tough situation mein phas gayi hai.
Mibe ko last week kaafi tough decisions lene pade, unhone warning di ki unko around ¥2.5 trillion (around $15.7 billion) ka loss hoga, jo uske EV wale wrong bet ki wajah se hai. Japan ki second larget car company ab U.S. ke liye planned atleast 3 EV models cancel kar rahi hai, or company apni history mein first time annual net loss report karegi.
"End mein responsibility meri hi banti hai. Isi reason se, bina or delay kiye, or future mein koi big problem na agonize karne ke liye, maine yeh kaafi tough decision liya," Mibe ne kaha.
Both automakers ek hi situation mein hai, iss financial year losses or falling sales ke liye ready ho rahe hai.
Abhi Honda ke financials bhi Nissan jitne hi battered lag rahe hai.
Yeh February 2025 ke comparison mein ek dramatic reversal hai.
Us month Nissan or Honda ke between ek merger plan tha, global ki No.3 auto group banane ka, but woh fail ho gaya. Nissan ko Honda ka zyada control lena pasand nahi aaya, especially jab Honda usse apni subsidiary banana chahta tha.
Tab se Nissan crisis mode mein chali gayi hai. Unhone Makoto Uchida ko CEO position se sack kar diya or Ivan Espinosa ko elevate kiya, jo ab ek 3 year ka tough-love comeback plan leke aaye hai.
One year bhi complete nahi hua office mein, or Espinosa ne already announce kar diya hai ki Nissan 7 assembly (¥500 billion)lants shut down kar dega, 20,000 jobs cut hongi, or ¥500 billion ke fixed or variable costs bhi reduce kiye jayenge.
last month, usne Nissan ke current fiscal year ke projected operating loss ko thoda reduce kar diya.
Nissan ab expect kar raha hai ki March 31 tak mein sirf ¥60 billion ($375.7 million) ka operating loss hoga, jo ki kaafi better hai compared to November mein jo ¥275 billion ($1.72 billion) ka loss predict kiya tha.
Nissan bol raha hai ki year unka net loss around ¥650 billion ($4.07 billion) hoga. Last year ke comparison mein thoda better hai, because tab unka loss ¥670.9 billion ($4.20 billion) tha.
Ek time pe lag raha tha ki Honda ka future Nissan se better hai, ab toh both companies ki condition almost same hi kharab hi lag raha hai.
Honda ne EV strategy thodi change ki hai, or ab company expect kar rahi hai ki is financial year mein unka operating loss Nissan se at least 4x zyada hoga. Honda bol raha hai ki yeh loss around ¥270 billion se ¥570 billion ke between ho sakta hai (around $1.69 billion to $3.57 billion).
Saath hi, company yeh bhi predict kar rahi hai ki this year unka net loss bhi kaafi massive hoga, around ¥420 billion se ¥690 billion ke between (roughly 2.63 billion and $4.32 billion)
Honda ne full risk le liya, whereas other Japaness rivals thoda safe play kar rahe the.
Bernstein ke analyst Masahiro Akita ne apni report "Bad News Continues" mein bola ki Honda ka yeh revision market ke liye "kaafi bada negative surprise" hai. because expected losses ka size kaafi zyada hai.
Honda abhi bhi Nissan se ahead hai raw volume ke according. But honestly, both companies ki situation kuch khaas acchi nahi lag rahi.
Nissan bol raha hai ki is fiscal year unki global sales around 4.4% decline kar gayi around 3.2 million cars tak aa jayegi.
Honda ko lagta hai ki worldwide deliveries approx. 10%drop ho jayengi, or around 3.4 million tak aa jayengi.
Honda ki problem to some extent Mibe ki EVs ko lekar over-optimism se aati hai. 2021 mein jab usne company charge liya, tab usne ek massive transformation start kiya. Usne promise kiya ki Honda, jo abhi world ke top internal combustion engine makers mein se ek hai, usse 2040 tak bilkul combustion-free company bana dega.
Honda first or basically only brand hai, jo Japanese carmaker tha jisne itna clear timeline set kiya tha internal combustion engines ko phase out karne ke liye.
Unka full-on commitment other Japanese companies se kaafi different tha, because other companies safe play kar rahi thi, multipath approach use karke, matlab different powertrains ke saath apne options open rakh rahe the.
Even Nissan, jo pehle EV space ka pioneer tha, usne bhi socha ki completely EV pe all-in switch karna sahi idea nahi hai.
Honda ke problems ka biggest reason China market bhi hai.
Honda ki failed EV strategy ab China jaise super important market mein bhi uska business down kar rahi hai.
Honda ab openly admit kar raha hai ki unki e:N series EVs, jo specially China ke liye in-house develop ki gayi thi, basically flop ho gayi hai. Yeh cars wahan ke local rivals se compete hoi nahi kar pa rahi, jo technology mein bhi more advanced hai or price mein bhi kaafi cost-effective hote hai.
World's biggest market mein jo extra capacity padi hai, usko absorb karne ke liye Honda ek last try kar raha hai, same Hail Mary type move.
Yeh basically China mein bani hui e:NS2 crossover ko repackage karke 4th generation insight ke name se laa raha hai, or phir usse Japan mein sell karenge, jahan EVs ka market share sirf 1.3% hi hai.
Nissan ne China mein apna ego side pe rakh diya. Usne apne Chinese joint venture partner Dongfeng ke engineered EVs par depend kiya, jo Chinese customers ki needs ke according perfectly tuned the.
Honda ke comparison mein, Nissan ki strategy thodi different chal rahi hai, wo China mein apni decline sales ko rokne ki koshish kar raha hai or gradually recovery build kar raha hai. 2023 se lekar ab tak, Nissan ki passenger vehicle sales China mein around 18% decline ho chuki hai, jo 601,132 units tak aa gayi hai, data ke according jo MarkLines name ka global automotive research portal deta hai.
Honda ki China mein sales iss period mein 46% decline ho gayi, sirf 6,77,724 units tak.
Investors or board ko hi last mein Mibe ka future decide karna padega.
Espinosa mein Nissan ke paas ek fresh, young CEO hai, jo abhi sirf one year se hi is role mein hai. Usne ek bold or thoda painful recovery plan start kiya hai, jo ab gradually track le raha hai. Nissan jaldi hi apna next mid-term plan bhi unveil karne wala hai.
Mibe mein Honda ka ek CEO hai jo around 5 years se ek kaafi bold decision pe work kar raha tha, but end mein wo thoda galat prove hua. Iss sab mein company ka around $16 billion ka loss ho gaya, or Honda ko stock market mein list hone ke baad first time net loss face karna pada.
Jab unhone apna "kaafi tough" decision announce kiya, Mibe ne bola ki wo 3 months tak apni salary ka 30% forfeit kar denge or performance based bonus bhi nahi lenge. Ab yeh investors or board members par depend karta hai ki unko lagta hai yeh Honda ki itni badi mistake le liye enough hai ya nahi.