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2025-01-08   

spin ph facebook ‘A man of principle, faith and humility’TOKYO — Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan have announced plans to work toward a merger that would form the world’s third-largest automaker by sales, as the industry undergoes dramatic changes in its transition away from fossil fuels. The two companies said they had signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday and that smaller Nissan alliance member Mitsubishi Motors Corp. also had agreed to join the talks on integrating their businesses. Automakers in Japan have lagged behind their big rivals in electric vehicles and are trying to cut costs and make up for lost time as newcomers like China’s BYD and EV market leader Tesla devour market share. Honda’s president, Toshihiro Mibe, said Honda and Nissan will attempt to unify their operations under a joint holding company. Honda will lead the new management, retaining the principles and brands of each company. They aim to have a formal merger agreement by June and to complete the deal and list the holding company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by August 2026, he said. No dollar value was given and the formal talks are just starting, Mibe said. There are “points that need to be studied and discussed,” he said. “Frankly speaking, the possibility of this not being implemented is not zero.” A merger could result in a behemoth worth more than $50 billion based on the market capitalization of all three automakers. Together, Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi would gain scale to compete with Toyota Motor Corp. and with Germany’s Volkswagen AG. Toyota has technology partnerships with Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp. and Subaru Corp. News of a possible merger surfaced earlier this month, with unconfirmed reports saying Taiwan iPhone maker Foxconn was seeking to tie up with Nissan by buying shares from the Japan’s company’s other alliance partner, Renault SA of France. Nissan’s CEO Makoto Uchida said Foxconn had not directly approach his company. He also acknowledged that Nissan’s situation was “severe.” Even after a merger Toyota, which rolled out 11.5 million vehicles in 2023, would remain the leading Japanese automaker. If they join, the three smaller companies would make about 8 million vehicles. In 2023, Honda made 4 million and Nissan produced 3.4 million. Mitsubishi Motors made just over 1 million. “We have come to the realization that in order for both parties to be leaders in this mobility transformation, it is necessary to make a more bold change than a collaboration in specific areas,” Mibe said. Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi earlier agreed to share components for electric vehicles like batteries and to jointly research software for autonomous driving to adapt better to electrification. Nissan has struggled following a scandal that began with the arrest of its former chairman Carlos Ghosn in late 2018 on charges of fraud and misuse of company assets, allegations that he denies. He eventually was released on bail and fled to Lebanon. Speaking Monday to reporters in Tokyo via a video link, Ghosn derided the planned merger as a “desperate move.” From Nissan, Honda could get truck-based body-on-frame large SUVs such as the Armada and Infiniti QX80 that Honda doesn’t have, with large towing capacities and good off-road performance, Sam Fiorani, vice president of AutoForecast Solutions, told The Associated Press. Nissan also has years of experience building batteries and electric vehicles, and gas-electric hybrid powertrains that could help Honda in developing its own EVs and next generation of hybrids, he said. But the company said in November that it was slashing 9,000 jobs, or about 6% of its global work force, and reducing its global production capacity by 20% after reporting a quarterly loss of 9.3 billion yen ($61 million). It recently reshuffled its management and Uchida, its chief executive, took a 50% pay cut while acknowledging responsibility for the financial woes, saying Nissan needed to become more efficient and respond better to market tastes, rising costs and other global changes. “We anticipate that if this integration comes to fruition, we will be able to deliver even greater value to a wider customer base,” Uchida said. Fitch Ratings recently downgraded Nissan’s credit outlook to “negative,” citing worsening profitability, partly due to price cuts in the North American market. But it noted that it has a strong financial structure and solid cash reserves that amounted to 1.44 trillion yen ($9.4 billion). Nissan’s share price also had fallen to the point where it is considered something of a bargain. On Monday, its Tokyo-traded shares gained 1.6%. They jumped more than 20% after news of the possible merger broke last week. Honda’s shares surged 3.8%. Honda’s net profit slipped nearly 20% in the first half of the April-March fiscal year from a year earlier, as its sales suffered in China. The merger reflects an industry-wide trend toward consolidation. At a routine briefing Monday, Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said he would not comment on details of the automakers’ plans, but said Japanese companies need to stay competitive in the fast changing market. “As the business environment surrounding the automobile industry largely changes, with competitiveness in storage batteries and software is increasingly important, we expect measures needed to survive international competition will be taken,” Hayashi said.

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Ryan Reaves figured that Darnell Nurse got it right. Kind of. Fresh off a five-game suspension for an illegal check to the head on Nurse, Reaves on Tuesday held court with media for the first time since the play on Nov. 16 against the and the suspension levied by the National Hockey League that came the following day. “The only truth that he spoke was I go out there to inflict pain,” Reaves said after taking his customary spot on the Maple Leafs fourth line at practice. “That’s a fact and that’s not going to stop. But I’m going to continue to do it legally. I’m going to keep playing hard, if not harder now, and I’m going to keep burying guys.” In the days after the hit, Nurse, who missed three games with an upper-body injury, was asked about the incident. “You can argue about the intent,” the Oilers defenceman said on Nov. 21. “But there are certain guys in the league that, every shift they go out there, they try to inflict pain. I think it’s pretty obvious what’s going on there.” Sitting in his stall at the Ford Performance Centre on Tuesday, Reaves shrugged. “When you get caught by somebody, you’re entitled to your opinion and that’s fine,” Reaves said. “But I think my 900 games (893 in the NHL) and however many thousands of hits I have (3,006) speaks for itself. I play physically every game and I’ve doing it for 15 years.” The suspension was Reaves’ fourth during his NHL career and first since the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs. This season, prior to the hit on Nurse that resulted in a match penalty, Reaves had taken just four minors. He hasn’t fought in a game since last April 6 against the Montreal Canadiens. Reaves’ previous longest suspension was three games. What did he think of sitting for five games? “I don’t want to get into that,” the 37-year-old veteran said. “I already told the kids that Christmas is cancelled and I don’t want to get fined again (the suspension cost him $35,156.25 US in lost wages). It’s over and we’re just going leave it at that.” Reaves said he doesn’t have a relationship with Nurse, though he confirmed he attempted to apologize to Nurse that night. Reaves said his intent was to make contact with Nurse in the body, not the head. “Just took a couple inches (from) too bad of an angle and caught him,” Reaves said. “An unfortunate incident and, if I’m a second later, I catch body. Something you don’t want to see, but it was just a split-second too late or too early. “I’m not in the box a lot and I try to play within the rules of the game. When something like that happens and a hit gets away from me, I don’t want any see anybody laying on the ice with a head injury.” Though the Leafs have been playing good hockey — they were 4-1 without Reaves and have won nine of their past 11 — coach Craig Berube will welcome the big winger back for the game on Wednesday night at home against the Nashville Predators. Defenceman Jake McCabe also will return to the Toronto lineup. He didn’t play in the Leafs’ 4-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday after he took a shot off the head versus Tampa Bay on Saturday. Centre Max Domi (lower body) practised with the Leafs for the first time since going on injured reserve on Nov. 20 and winger Max Pacioretty (lower body) also took part. Neither will play against Nashville. Assistant coach Marc Savard missed practice because he was sick, but is expected to be behind the bench on Wednesday, Berube said. Regarding Reaves, Berube was glad to know he can use him again. “He brings a lot to our team,” Berube said. “He’s a great locker room guy, he’s a great team guy. The toughness that he brings, when he’s on the ice, people know he’s out there. He’s a physical player, and he’s a smart player. He does things right defensively, and he drives our game. “I know it was a long stretch because the games were spread out, which is difficult for him, but at the same time, he got a lot of good work in, practised at skating and doing extra stuff.” Reaves’ linemates at practice were centre Connor Dewar and rookie winger Nikita Grebenkin. “There’s not a good day to get suspended, but it was the worst possible day with how little we played,” Reaves said. “We played one game in the first week and then another one in five days. It has been a long stint. “I’m excited to get back in the lineup with the boys and bring more energy.” X: @koshtorontosun

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LKQ Corp. stock rises Tuesday, outperforms marketNoneHubco and BYD seem strange bedfellows, but there is an underlying logic At first glance, the alliance between Hubco and Mega Motors does not make sense. After all, one is a power producer, indeed the first Independent Power Producer, and the other is an automotive concern. Yet they have formed a joint venture which gives Hubco’’s wholly renowned Hub Power Holdings Limited a 50 percent stake in Mega Motor Company, which is in turn owned by Mega Conglomerate. The secret is revealed by the fact that Mega Motors has made a deal to make and market BYD vehicles. The Chinese company is the biggest electric vehicle company in the world. Hubco has been one of the companies which are having their power purchase agreements terminated early, and now it needs to diversify beyond power generation quickly. It should be remembered that oil companies were once the biggest researchers into solar power, while motorcar companies were among the earliest researchers in electric vehicles. Though none of them are in the front rank of either power generation or automobiles, the synergy has still proved useful. By moving from an oil-fired business to one taking solar energy, Hubco is still leaving itself room to get back into generation, though solar this time. Hubco has British, Saudi and US investors, which means that they are now in alliance with a Chinese EV maker. BYD may be able to leverage this alliance into gaining greater access to British and US solar and automotive technology. This agreement may also be seen as symbolic of how it is possible, in this globalized world, to bypass nationalistic barriers. Who would have imagined a joint venture between two Pakistani firms involving a Chinese and a US investor? If the incoming Trump Administration tries to strangle BYD with tariffs, what is to stop Xentergy, Hubco’s American investor, from lobbying for relaxation? Hubco is clearly looking to a future where oil is no longer king, and in that respect is proving itself worthy of the many awards it has won from the Marketing Association of Pakistan, not just for showing corporate responsibility, but also for being forward-looking. There is a storm of innovation coming, and those following previous paradigms, like strident nationalism, re going to be left behind in the dust of the innovators. In a way, the government did Hubco a favour by turfing it out of the power generation business. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

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