Unlock Editor's Digest Lock for Free
FT editor Roula Khalaf will select your favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
High-level Japanese groups, including the former prime minister, have planned to invest in Nissan, the automaker Elon Musk's Tesla is struggling with after merger talks with rival Honda collapsed.
The new proposal, led by former Tesla board member Hiro Mizuno, is supported by former Yoshihidesuga and his former aide Nishino, according to three people with direct knowledge of the move. Several Nissan board members are aware of the initiative.
People say the group hopes to become a strategic investor as they believe the world's largest pure electric vehicle manufacturer is eager to acquire US plants. The factory will help to boost domestic manufacturing in response to the threat of Donald Trump's tariffs.
Plans to approach Tesla say that after Nissan leaves Honda's $58 billion merger proposal, Japan's third largest automaker falls into potentially hostile foreign hands, Taiwan's iPhone assembler FOXCONN, activist , fearing that private equity groups will be surrounded.
The talks with Honda were originally sparked last year after Foxconn approached Nissan's partner Renault about buying stakes in a French company with a Japanese automaker. Following a breakdown of negotiations this month, Foxconn confirmed its interest in acquiring Nissan stakes as a way to expand its EV manufacturing industry.
Suga, who stopped as prime minister in 2021, is an active figure in Japanese politics and continues as a member of the Japanese House of Representatives. He began his political career in Yokohama, where Nissan is based.
The proposal envisages a consortium of investors with Tesla as its biggest backer, but also includes the possibility of minority investments by Foxconn to prevent a full acquisition by Apple suppliers.
Nissan stocks rose up by up to 11% in Tokyo on Friday, Friday.
Nissan and Izumi declined to comment. Mizuno, Suga, Tesla and Musk did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
In recent weeks, Nissan has begun searching for strategic partners in the technology industry. According to two other people familiar with the issue, some board members have proposed Tesla and Apple as ideal targets. In November, we launched an emergency turnaround plan that includes 9,000 unemployment as it dropped to quarterly losses.
With a market capitalization of 1.1tn, Tesla is one of the most valuable companies in the world. Historically, it has not invested in automotive companies, and Musk has pivoted its focus and $360 billion in cash spending into autonomous driving and robotics.
But they want to boost production in the US to offset the effects of President Donald Trump's threatened tariffs. The group locally assembles all vehicles sold in the US, but sources some of the components from Mexico and other parts of the world.
Nissan has two assembly plants in Tennessee and Mississippi, with a total capacity of around 1 million vehicles per year, but in 2024 only 525,000 units were produced. As part of the restructuring, the company announced plans to reduce production capacity by 20% and reduce production capacity by 20% to address the flag frame. sale. Last week, he said he had planned to cut shifts at two U.S. factories.
Given that the local market is a key growth area of profit, Nissan may not be able to easily accept sales of US factories to rivals.
Since Foxconn's interest in Nissan has been revealed in recent months, officials from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry have said they have been saying that the political implications and robustness of the national security screening process to handle Foxconn, which is believed to be too close to China. I'm deeply concerned. .
According to Japanese government officials, Japan welcomed large-scale semiconductor investments from Taiwan and would have been difficult to block the transaction as Renault previously allowed Nissan and Foxconn to buy Sharp.
Following the restructuring of the alliance in 2023, Renault hopes to sell the majority of the 36% it still owns at a high premium to the Japanese group.
In an interview Thursday, its CEO, Luca de Meo, stated all the suggestions needed to reflect the values created through the 25-year-old partnership.
“I hope the Nissan management team finds a way to work better than it has been,” he said. “I'll give them all the support they need.”
Additional reports from Stephen Morris of San Francisco, Joe Miller of Washington, and Ian Johnston of Paris
