Welcome to the Daily 5 report for Thursday, Jan. 9.
Most of the recent public discussion about the potential Honda-Nissan combination seems to be focused on why the value proposition isn't there.
Well, finally, a Honda Motor Co. executive this week touted some potential synergies for the two Japanese automakers — at least in the all-important North American market.
A merger with Nissan Motor Co. could give Honda access to Nissan's know-how in big pickups and SUVs, important U.S. segments it has yet to tap, Noriya Kaihara, a Honda executive vice president, told reporters Jan. 7 on the sidelines of the CES technology expo in Las Vegas. Sharing those vehicles could help Honda fill gaps in its lineup, he said in our story by Carly Schaffner.
"Nissan has a little bit larger class, E-segment vehicles that we don't have at this moment. So, if we can exchange some of our vehicles, that would be a benefit for us in the short term," Kaihara said.
Nissan's pickups and SUVs — the Titan full-size pickup, the midsize Frontier and the three-row, body-on-frame Armada SUV — could all be attractive to Honda, which leans on the Pilot three-row crossover and Ridgeline small pickup in North America.
Kaihara didn't address sedans and smaller crossovers, but Honda would likely hold a strong advantage in those segments in North America if the companies combined. Honda could also benefit from Nissan's excess capacity at its plants on this continent.
To be sure, there are still many difficult hurdles for Honda and Nissan to overcome, as Hans Greimel described in this story from yesterday's report.
But Kaihara's statements at CES show there could be more value to this deal than meets the eye.
Speaking of CES, Hannah Lutz today wrote an excellent summary of the mood at this year's show. Her conclusion? Caution underscored much of the automotive component at the event. The convention also foreshadowed the industry's concern over how the incoming Trump administration may upend policies and plans already in motion, the story said.
In other news today, Tesla's fast-charging network will offer more than 20,000 Superchargers to Mercedes-Benz owners as part of an agreement announced in July 2023.
Meanwhile, some troubling news moved out of South Korea early this morning with LG Energy reporting an unexpected $154 million operating loss for the most recent quarter. Financial losses by battery suppliers create uncertainty for automakers as they try to ramp up EV production. LG Energy is a key supplier to General Motors, so today's report could not have been comfortable for GM's brass.
Despite the growing uncertainty about EV sales growth, nobody is complaining about EVs at Volvo Cars, which posted record global deliveries in 2024. The newest battery-powered models in its lineup — the EX30, EX90 and EM90 — added 100,768 sales to the automaker's total volume in 2024, according to our story by Douglas A. Bolduc. When sales of the EX40 and C40 are added, Volvo's EV sales reached 175,194 last year, an increase of 54 percent compared with 2023.
Looking ahead to Friday, look for initial coverage of the 2025 Detroit Auto Show, including the North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year awards.
That's it for now. Have a great rest of your day.
If you want to view this story in your browser, click here.
— Philip Nussel, online editor
